My Own Personal Model
by Clover-tan
Summary: He's a model and she's a photographer. They never talk to each other nor are they interested. But an unexpected meeting at a bar sparks a conversation between them. Are things going to take a turn? And who's this other model she's working with? AU.
1. The Model and the Photographer

I hope you like this~! Reviews are appreciated~! Thank you~

* * *

Chapter One - The Model and the Photographer

Click. Snap! The camera flashed and saved a picture of the posing model. His name was Soul Eater Evans, known for his cool, apathetic attitude and arrogant personality. Maka didn't know him that well, nor was she interested. Their relationship was just photographer-model; they never talked or made contact with each other. She was more than sure that he didn't even now her name.

"Hey there, Maka-chan~!" Maka glanced around and saw Blair, her former roommate and close friend. "Blair? What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. "To see you, of course~!" she replied in a casual tone. Maka sighed and dusted her camera. "Just admit it, you're here to see that model I'm working with today. He's over there, but I don't think you'll be allowed to get close to him." She pointed to the direction where Soul was standing, unbuttoning his shirt and picking out a different one. "Oh my god, he's even more hotter than imagined~!" Blair squealed and jumped up in excitement. "Suck it, Blair. I don't think he's interested in girls," Maka warned. "What?!?!"

He turned around in surprise and glared at Blair. Soul wasn't the kind of person who fan girls' presence, especially giddy and provocative ones. He could kick her out at any time with just a snap of his finger. "Jeez, he's a fiery one…" Blair whispered. "I don't think I'll go for him, he's pretty scary. I'll see you at the bar at 9, ok?" "What?" Maka glanced at her in confusion, she was pretty sure that she didn't say anything about meeting up at a bar. "Oh, come on, Maka! You hardly go anymore!" Blair whined childishly. "That's 'cause all you do is hook up with guys there and leave me sitting at a table with a glass of soda!" Maka protested. "But there were guys who wanted to buy you drinks and dance with you!" "Yeah, perverts!"

"I guess I'll see you there, then~!" Blair grinned and began to walk away. As she reached the front door, she decided to make it clear to Maka. "Because if I don't see you.." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bundle of keys. "I don't think you'll be able to get a good night's sleep~!" She then smirked and left the studio.

"What the-?! My apartment keys!! Blair!" Maka ran over to the door, determined to chase after her, but was stopped by the rest of the camera crew. "Maka, the shots aren't finished yet, where do you think you're going?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Damn it, not again…"

* * *

Loud, bass music rumbled through the bar, a common place to hook up with people. "Maka-chan~! Over here!" Blair waved her hand and jumped onto a table, although Maka already noticed her in the crowd since she was the only one who was provocatively dressed. She walked over to her and extended her hand. "Blair, my keys, please," she demanded in a serious tone. "Aw, Maka, you're no fun! I'll give them to you once I'm done flirting with the guys here," she purred. Maka rolled her eyes and walked over to the counter. "One glass of coke, please."

She sipped her glass of coke, leaned on her elbow and tried to relax. She was determined to get her keys back as soon as possible and head back home to finish reading her book, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.

"This seat taken?"

Maka turned around to see a tall young guy with striking white hair. He was wearing a pair of shades, even though the bar was already dark inside.

"No, go ahead."

She was sure that he heard his voice somewhere. Then it clicked. He was the model that she'd worked with earlier.

"You're Soul Eater Evans, aren't you?"

He instantly turned around in surprise and backed away. "I, uh.."

"Don't worry, I'm not a crazy fan or anything," she assured him with a slight smile. "I'm your photographer, Maka Albarn, nice to meet you. She extended her hand for him to shake. He sighed in relief and politely shook her hand.

"Whew, for a moment, you had me thinking that you were going to scream and set the girls on me..!" He sounded friendlier than she'd expected, he wasn't at all like the moody, stoic guy he was at the studio. "Oh, I recognize you now," he figured out whilst staring at her. "You were with that annoying girl, weren't you?" "Damn, he's straightforward.." Maka thought with a frown. "Um, yeah, she's my friend. She's over there." She pointed over to Blair, who was pole dancing on stage with a couple of rowdy guys. "She's barely dressed!" Soul exclaimed in surprise and disbelief. "Oh, believe me, that's the most she's worn this entire week!" Maka claimed with a laugh. He laughed and snapped his fingers for the bartender to come over. "One glass of coke with a hint of vodka and…" He glanced at Maka and gestured to her to order. "Oh, no, I'm fine, thanks," she quickly declined.

"C'mon, it's on me," he urged.

"No, seriously, I'm fine," she protested as politely as possible.

He glanced at her almost-empty glass of coke. "And a glass of coke, please." The bartender nodded and walked away to get the drinks.

She glanced at him and observed his actions. He didn't seem arrogant and apathetic at all; he seemed like a normal guy.

"Well, you weren't as I expected.." she mumbled.

"What?" He turned to look at her in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was rude," she apologized. She'd accidentally let her mouth slip and was now regretting it. "Damn it.." she thought.

"Don't worry about it, tell me what you meant," he urged. He didn't sound the least irritated or angry, which helped her calm down a little. "Well, your first impression on me at the studio was like, um.. Well, you seemed like a stoic guy and all.." she tried to explain. "Oh…" He paused for a moment and grinned. "Well, that's what my manager wants me to be like. Most people say that I give off the impression of a 'cool guy' so they want me to act like that, but it's just an act." He paused again for a few minutes and continued. "Although I do seem pretty concealed and indifferent at times.." Maka smiled and nodded. It was like she'd met a whole new person, a person who was so interesting that she wanted to get to know him more. "So, what about you?" "Huh?" She frowned in surprise and confusion. "What are you like?" he asked her casually, yet curiously. "Me?" The question was so unexpected that she couldn't come up with anything to say. "Well… I'm just a normal photographer, nothing special. Although, I do enjoy books," she added. "A bookworm, huh?" She instantly glared at him which caused him to jerk in surprise. "And I have a pretty bad temper," she included with a tense, striking stare. Soul cleared his throat nervously and glanced away. "Uh, sorry 'bout that.." he apologized timidly. "Don't mind it, just don't do that again, otherwise I can't assure that you'll be unhurt," she warned with a grin.

Time had passed and people were beginning to leave. Blair had already returned the keys to Maka, but both of them were still staying at the bar. Soul was still there, too. Although it had occurred many times to Maka that she'd wanted to head home as quickly as possible and read her book, she was still staying at the bar, and for an unclear reason that she didn't understand. She found herself having a casual conversation with Soul and realized that she was having a pretty good time. She glanced at her watch and gasped in disbelief. It was already past midnight and she remembered that she had to do an important photo shoot the next day. "I gotta head home, I have a photo shoot tomorrow.." she explained and got up. "Oh hey, I'll give you a ride," he offered and stood up. "Nah, it's ok, I live in an apartment just down the street," she declined. Their manners and words had eased and they were now talking like close friends. "C'mon, I insist. It's really late and dark too, who knows what'll happen," he insisted. "Besides, I'm heading back too, it's boring without someone like you. Don't get me wrong, it's just that you're really fun to talk with and you seem so easygoing, unlike most girls here." She smiled and suddenly felt really relieved and glad to hear that, which confused her. She was sure that she wasn't at all interested in him.

"Um, ok, if you say so."

* * *

As they got out of the bar and took a fresh breath of the open air, Soul took off his shades and stretched. "Damn, I hate having to hide myself every time I go out for a drink," he muttered in frustration. "I guess being a model has it's bad points too.." Maka thought to herself as she observed him.

"Cool motorcycle!" Maka curiously observed the vehicle and studied its engine. "Awesome…" she mumbled. Soul laughed and grinned. "I'm glad you like it..! You're the first girl I met who's interested in stuff like this." He took out his keys and turned on the engine. She jerked in surprise as she heard the engine go off and make loud sounds. "Scared?" he asked her teasingly. "Of course not."

"Are we reaching it yet?" "It's just around the corner," Maka pointed out. "Y'know, I didn't think that you'd ride a motorcycle," she implied. He laughed and grinned, showing his bare white teeth. "Well, I enjoy the windy breeze," he explained casually. "Is that it?" She held onto his shoulders and pulled herself up to look at his direction. "Yup, that's my apartment."

He braked abruptly, causing her to jerk forward and land chest-first onto his back. She instantly backed away and blushed. "I-I'm sorry!" she apologized in embarrassment. He turned around to look back at her and grin. "Don't mind it," he assured. "It wasn't a turn-on anyway," he teased jokingly. There was a short pause as Maka didn't reply, causing Soul to feel a bit confused. "Maka…?" "Maka chop!!" She hit him on the head, hard. "Ow!!!" He jerked forward and clutched his head in pain. "That hurt!!" "Of course it did," she plainly said. "Besides, I warned you that if you said anything like that, I couldn't guarantee that you'd be left unhurt." "Ugh.. Yeah, I got it.." He managed to put on a smile as she got off the motorcycle and glanced at him. "So, you heading home or maybe, you'd like to come in..?" she offered. He shook his head and shrugged. "I gotta head back, I have a photo shoot tomorrow," he explained. "Oh, I see.. Anyway, thanks for the ride and the drink! Who knows, we might see each other in the studio again sometime..!" As she headed to the gate and punched in a code, she heard Soul's voice calling her. "Wait! Maka! Can I have your number?" he yelled out. "Huh? Yeah, sure!" She took out her phone, ran over to him, and gave him her phone number. "Ok, I'll give you a ring," he said and dialled her. Her mobile vibrated and she declined the call. "Got your number. I'll see you sometime, maybe at the studio or the bar." She put away her mobile and smiled. "Bye, Soul~! It was nice getting to know you!" She then walked back to the gate and opened it.

"Wait, Maka!" "Hm?" She turned around and looked at Soul, who'd called her. "Who do you have a photo shoot with tomorrow?" he asked her curiously.

"Death the Kid."


	2. The Other Model

Wow, thanks for the reviews and the faves~! ^^ I'm glad you like my story~! Ok, introducing Death the Kid! *drum roll*…. Chapter Two, here it is! Reviews are appreciated, thank you~!

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Chapter Two - The Other Model

"Wha-?! Death the Kid?!" Soul sounded pretty shocked to hear his name. "Yeah.. Something wrong with that..?" Maka asked in slight surprise and confusion. "N-no, of course not.." he stuttered. "I just don't get along with that guy.." "Oh.." Maka nodded and smiled. "So, you guys know each other, huh?" He nodded back and frowned.

"We were roommates in university… trust me, he's a total snob and he's unbelievably organised and bossy, damn, I hate him.." Maka laughed and smirked. "Well, who knows? I might end up having a drink with him like with you today," she teased jokingly. "You'd better not," he warned with a grin. She smiled and waved off. "See you later, Soul."

* * *

"Darn it, he's late again.." Maka's boss groaned in frustration and repeatedly checked his watch. "Is he always this late…?" she thought to herself. Just then, the doors opened and in stepped a tall, black-haired juvenile, accompanied by two blonde women who were probably sisters.

"Death the Kid, nice to meet you again," he formally greeted Maka's boss and shook his hand. "Great, you're here..! Let's get this photo shoot done!" Maka's boss sounded pretty relieved that he was here and he instantly snapped at her to prepare the cameras and poses. As she was adjusting the camera and wiping the projector, footsteps were heard coming towards her, causing her to look up in surprise and notice him, Death the Kid.

"Are you my photographer?" he asked her politely. "Yeah, my name's Maka Albarn, nice to meet you," she greeted him and extended her hand. He shook her hand and glanced at the camera. "I'd like you to make the shots symmetrical, otherwise I won't ever let you be my photographer again," he ordered. She glanced at him in surprise and disbelief. "Oh my god, he is quite bossy like Soul said.." she thought to herself in shock. "Yeah sure, I got it," she assured him casually. "Good, I'll see to it," he replied in an almost threatening tone and walked away.

"Hey, Maka, right?" Maka turned around to face the tall, blonde woman who'd accompanied him. "Yeah," she replied. "My name's Elizabeth Thompson, I'm Death the Kid's assistant, call me Liz," she greeted. Maka nodded and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Is he bothering you, by any chance?" Liz asked in a concerned tone. Maka seemed to be slightly surprised by her question.

"No, not at all!" she quickly assured.

"Oh, that's good then." Liz smiled and laughed. "You see, he has a slight case of OCD and he's pretty much obsessed with symmetry," she explained.

"I see.." Maka nodded and drifted off in her thoughts. "So that's why he acted so bossy.." she assumed in her head.

"Maka-chan~!!" Before she could respond, Maka was pounced by the other blonde woman.

"H-huh?!" she blurted out in surprise and confusion.

"My name's Patti~! I'm Kid's bodyguard~!" she introduced herself cheerily. Maka realized that she was still hugging her and she was beginning to feel awkward.

"Um, hi.." Maka tried to greet back. "I'm meeting a lot of strange people today.." she thought to herself with a sigh.

Snap! "Ok, that's the last shot, we're done!" Kid immediately ran over to Maka and checked the camera. "They're symmetrical, right??" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, don't worry, they are," she assured him with a half-smile. He sighed in relief. "I'll check them later," he declared. There was a long pause as neither of them spoke, until Maka realized that Kid's eyes were fixed on her.

"Kid-san.. Is there something wrong..?" she asked him politely.

"Huh? No, it's nothing.. And just call me Kid," he assured. She nodded and put her camera away.

"Your pigtails are.. Wonderfully symmetrical.." he complimented. She frowned in surprise and tried to smile. "Um, I'll take that as a compliment then," she replied in an almost frustrated tone.

Just then, her mobile rang and she saw Soul's name on the screen. "Excuse me for a sec.."

She flipped her mobile open and put it to her ear. "Hi, Soul?" Kid instantly turned around in surprise, hearing that name.

"Hey, Maka! You free today?" Soul asked her in an upbeat tone. "Wanna hang out at the bar again tonight?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool," she agreed with a grin.

"Great! See you there at 8?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Cool! I'll see you there!"

"Yup, looking forward to it~! Bye!"

She hung up and put her phone away. "Maka-san.." She turned around to see Kid, who'd put on quite a serious face. "Yes, Kid-kun?"

"Was that, by any chance, Soul Eater Evans?"

She was slightly surprised by that question. "Yeah, it was, actually," she replied slowly.

"Oh, I see.." He paused for a moment then smiled casually. "Do you think I could come with you? He's my friend, I'd like to see him again."

She thought silently for a moment as she tried to decide whether to let him come or not. She remembered Soul telling her last night that he really hated him. But Kid was also a model that she was going to work with for a pretty long time and she didn't want to get on his bad side since he could sabotage her career at any time. "I, uh…" she sighed and pouted. "Ok, fine, you can come with me.."

He smiled in approval. "That's great.. I think we're gonna have a pretty good time, you, Soul, and I."

* * *

Heavy funk music was usually played on Fridays since it was a party night. The bar was packed with dancing people and drunkards. "Ugh, sick people.." Maka groaned in frustration. "I know, and their dancing is absolutely horrible.." Kid remarked in irritation. Maka smiled and laughed.

"You're pretty serious and organised, aren't you?" she asked jokingly.

"Of course I am, it's one of my well-known personality traits…!" he confirmed with a smirk. "I'm sorry if it bothers you, though," he apologized in a slightly disappointed tone.

"No, not at all!" Maka was surprised to see that he also had a soft side, but it made her feel more comfortable around him. "Everyone has something special about them," she assured with a smile.

There was a long silence as they searched through the bar to find Soul. "Maka-san, you're a very nice person, I'm glad I met you," Kid remarked in a sincere tone, which greatly surprised Maka.

"Um…" She was really surprised to hear that, but she was glad that the person she was with was actually a nice guy.

"Thank you, Kid-kun."

* * *

"Maka, over here!" She instantly recognized the voice calling her; it was Soul. She turned around to see him sitting at the counter.

"Hi, Soul~!" She ran over to him and smiled. He didn't smile back, he was staring at the guy next to her, Death the Kid.

"Hey, Soul. What a coincidence, seeing you here," Kid greeted casually with a smirk. "Kid…" Soul muttered gloomily. "What do you want?"

"What's wrong? We're friends, aren't we?" Kid teasingly asked.

"That ended since the fight with Black Star," Soul denied in a cold, angry tone.

Maka glanced at the both of them in confusion; she had no idea what they were talking about.

"Still holding a grudge to that, Soul?" Kid asked in an almost mocking tone.

Soul slammed his fist onto the counter, surprising Maka, but not Kid. It seemed like he was used to his fiery temper.

"Of course I am! You ruined his whole future, even though it was practically your fault!" he yelled furiously.

"My fault? That guy was trying to pick a fight with him so I just gave him what he wanted," Kid spoke in a calm, cool tone. "Either way, he was probably going to end up as a dropout anyway.."

Smack! A hard punch was delivered to Kid's face, causing him to topple over a table and fall over.

"That's for Black Star!!" Soul shouted angrily, clenching his fists.

"You really think you could get away with doing that…?" Kid slowly got up and brushed his hand against his bruised cheek. "Seems like university is repeating itself all over again.." With that, he charged forward and punched Soul, sending him penetrating against the counter.

"Hey, stop it!!" Maka intervened and caught Soul's arm before he could deliver another punch. "You're acting like stupid children, both of you!!" They didn't argue, but they exchanged sharp glares at each other. Maka noticed their silent spar and scowled. "Both of you are going to my apartment to reconcile! Let's not make a scene here!" she instructed and dragged them outside.

As they were leaving, people began to whisper and gossip. "Hey, aren't those two guys the models, Death the Kid and Soul Eater Evans?" "Yeah.. Who's that girl..?" "I don't know.. Definitely not a girlfriend.. I mean, who would have such taste?"

"Hey, you! Why don't you say that to my face, huh?!" Maka stomped over to the girl who insulted her and gave her a menacing glare. "You want a taste of this?!" she challenged, clenching her fist.

"Maka, I thought you didn't want to cause a scene…" Soul whispered. "Screw that! I'm pummelling this tramp!" she shouted back. "I think it's best if we leave…" Kid suggested. Soul nodded and they both held onto Maka's arms and dragged her outside, despite her shouts and protests. "You just wait!! I'm gonna get you!!" Maka yelled threateningly at the girl, who was beginning to feel pretty uncomfortable and scared. "What's with her…?" she mumbled nervously.

"Talk about getting your words backfired.." Soul muttered. Maka grumbled and rolled her eyes. "Soul, you didn't bring your motorcycle?" Kid asked, looking around. "Nah, I took the train here, you?" "Liz dropped us off." "Typical…"

"Hey, let's not get into a fight again.." Maka suggested. "Ever the peacemaker.." Kid mumbled sarcastically. "I remember your apartment's just a walking distance from here," Soul remarked. "Yeah, there it is, right over there." Maka pointed over to the tall apartment near the corner.

* * *

"So, you manage the whole pay without a roommate?" Kid asked in slight surprise and astonishment as he looked through the rooms.

"Yeah, Blair used to be my roommate but she brought a guy home every night so I wasn't exactly comfortable with that…" Maka explained with a laugh. "And it was always a different guy too..! How did she manage, I've no idea…"

Soul smiled and sat down on the couch. "Well, I guess that's a normal woman for you," he said jokingly.

"Maka-san…"

Kid appeared from her room, holding a picture frame. "Is that Tsubaki-san standing next to you?"

"Eh?" Maka walked over to him and leaned over to see the picture. "Yeah, that's her, Tsubaki-chan is a colleague and friend of mine, she works in the fashion industry," she explained.

"Yeah, I know. She's Black Star's girlfriend," he confirmed, whilst brushing his finger against the picture.

"Don't talk casually like that!" Soul got up and glared at Kid in fury. "After what you did, I don't think you should just talk about Tsubaki and Black Star like close friends!!" Maka and Kid frowned in surprise.

"Soul, calm down.." Maka walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't get mad again.."

"Tch…." He groaned and averted his eyes. "Yeah, ok…"

She smiled and turned to look at Kid. "This thing you were arguing about.. Care to explain it to me?"

Kid nodded and sat down next to her. "Soul, Black Star, and I went to the same university. We had many classes together and people considered us friends, even though we usually didn't get along. Then one day something happened and -"

"Black Star and Kid got into a fight," Soul continued. "Black Star was teasing Kid about his hair and it led to Kid punching him, which, of course, led to a huge fight."

"Whoa.. So you're holding a grudge against that..?" Maka asked.

"No, it's because Black Star got expelled from the university and became a dropout, even though it was originally Kid's fault," Soul explained whilst continuously glaring at Kid.

"My fault? He was the one trying to pick a fight with me! I just gave him what he asked for!" Kid protested.

"How can you have the guts to say that?! You shameless little -"

"Both of you, shut up right now!!" Maka was now more annoyed and frustrated than ever that they weren't getting along as she'd expected. "Look, I know that I wasn't at the scene when that happened, but can't you just let it go??"

"'Cause it wasn't fair!!" Soul yelled in anger and got up. "It's all his fault!!"

"Stop assuming everything all by yourself, Soul. It's irritating me.." Kid muttered casually.

Maka sensed that the tension was building up between them and began to panic and try to figure out what to do.

"Would it help if.. We brought this Black Star person here, and ask him what he thinks of it?" she suggested.

Kid and Soul nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm ok with that, I'll call him right now," Soul said as he took out his phone and dialled a number.

"Black Star here! What's up??" an upbeat voice greeted through the phone.

"Hey, it's Soul. Are you free right now?"

"Heck yeah, I am! Got plans?"

"You know that apartment near the bar that we usually hang out?" Soul asked.

"Hm…. Yeah, I know that apartment! Kirikou lives there!"

"Kirikou's a friend of ours," Soul whispered to Maka, who nodded in response. "Great, so can you come over then? Room number 78," he informed.

"Sure! Wait there, I'll be there in a flash! I was just passing by the bar.."

"Good. Hurry up."

With that, Soul hung up and turned to look at Maka and Kid.

"Black Star's on his way."


	3. The Troublemaker and the Angel

Yup, there's gonna be a few scenes of TsubakixBlack Star in further chapters, but they're like, a minor pair, so the story is mainly focused on Maka, Soul, and Kid since they're the main characters. ^^ I do hope you enjoy this~! Reviews are highly appreciated~ :D (They encourage me to write, actually ^^ It feels great and relieving to know what you think :3)

Quick Note: In this chapter, there is a suggestion of 'adult romance' between Black Star and Tsubaki so just to let you know, the characters in this story have already graduated from university so they're like 21 or something. ^^

I decided to finish this chapter quickly and update it since today's my birthday. :3 Just a little gift from me to you~ Y^_^Y

* * *

Chapter Three - The Troublemaker and the Angel

"Well, that's good to know. Finally, we can sort things out," Kid remarked in relief.

"You're one to talk…" Soul mumbled sarcastically.

Maka silently prayed that Black Star would arrive soon; she sensed that the tension was building up again.

Knock, knock.

"Oh my god, is he here already?!" Maka got up, walked over to the door, and opened it.

"Hi! Is Soul here?"

In front of her stood a grinning, blue-haired juvenile with slightly tanned skin and wearing a sleeveless top and shorts.

"Yeah, are you Black Star?" she asked.

"Yup, that's me! The mighty Black Star!!" he confirmed proudly.

"Uh, ok then.. Come on in.."

He walked into her living room as she shut the door behind her.

"Soul, Kid, hey there!" he greeted the others enthusiastically.

"Hey," Soul greeted back.

"Good evening," Kid casually greeted back.

Maka walked over to them and sat down beside Soul.

Seeing as no-one had said anything, Soul decided to introduce Maka to Black Star. "Black Star, this is Maka, she's a friend of ours and -."

"She's Tsubaki's friend, I know. I ran into her a few times," Black Star interrupted.

"Oh, right! Come to think of it, you are a familiar face!" Maka recognized as she fixed her eyes on him.

"Of course, who could forget such a handsome face?" Black Star praised himself smugly.

Soul rolled his eyes in sarcasm. "He's always like that," he explained, to which Maka nodded with a slight smile.

"So, what's up?" Black Star asked with a grin.

"Are you still mad at me for that thing that happened in university?" Kid asked, cutting right to the point.

"Hm? Can you make it clearer? I remember a lot of things that happened in university," Black Star inquired, as he sat down and made himself comfortable.

"I can bet that none of those 'things' involved getting laid.." Soul muttered.

"Hey, you! Shut your mouth! Like you ever did!" he shot back.

Kid cleared his throat to gain attention. "Black Star, what I meant was, are you still mad at me for getting you expelled?"

There was a long pause as they all fell silent for a moment, curious as to how he would respond.

To their surprise, Black Star cracked up in hysterical laughter and fell off the couch. "Oh my god..! You're still worked up about that?! I actually forgot that I ever went to university!" he exclaimed.

"Typical.." Soul muttered in frustration. "But surely, you've got to be at least a tiny bit mad, right?"

Black Star calmed down and slowly climbed back up onto the couch, landing straight onto Soul, who instantly kicked him away.

"Well, I do admit, I was kind of pissed off at first but.." He paused as he tried to come up with words to explain how he felt. "I guess, I decided to let it go. I mean, the mighty Black Star never holds grudges!"

"Is this guy ever serious..?" Maka thought to herself in disbelief.

Soul turned to look at her and shake his head, meaning 'no'. It was clearly obvious to tell what she was thinking, since that was what every single person who encountered with Black Star would think.

"Besides, he did apologize like, a thousand times," Black Star continued.

Soul turned to look at Kid in surprise; he had no idea that Kid had apologized to Black Star.

Kid blushed in embarrassment and averted his eyes. "Well, I did.. Mainly because it was also partly my fault for getting him expelled…"

"Damn right, it was.." Soul mumbled.

"Hey, so.. This is all sorted, right? You guys are ok now… right??" Maka asked nervously.

There was a long pause as they all glanced at each other and thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess we're cool.." Soul muttered.

"I'm alright with it," Kid agreed.

"I don't really know what's going on, but I'm hungry…" Black Star whined childishly.

Knock, knock.

"Eh? I wonder who that is…" Maka walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the visitor to be Tsubaki, dressed in a beautiful white dress, but her eyes filled with tears.

"Tsubaki-chan! What's wrong??" Maka asked in surprise as she helped her inside and shut the door behind her.

"Black.. Star.. Stood me up.." Tsubaki tried to explain, whilst sniffling and wiping her tears.

"Oh, that's terrible.." Maka glanced around the room to glare at the guy who was at fault, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"He's not here, right?" Tsubaki asked desperately.

"Huh?" Maka glanced back to Tsubaki. "No, of course not! It's just me, Soul, and Kid. You guys know each other, right?"

Tsubaki nodded and sat herself down next to Soul. Maka gestured to them asking where Black Star was, with Kid pointing to her room in response.

"Hey, Tsubaki.." Soul began, sounding uncomfortable since he wasn't used to seeing people cry. "Black Star's the kind of guy who usually forgets stuff, so if he stood you up then, I'm sure it was a -."

"Soul, he stood me up six times," Tsubaki cut through in a serious tone, causing him to immediately shut up since he had no idea what to say.

"Tsubaki-san.." Kid decided to try to cheer her up next. "Black Star's a jerk, and you're dating him. So if you're dating a jerk, then you've gotta be expecting these kind of things and not to make a big deal out of it…!" Maka and Soul immediately turned to glare at him in frustration; his way of cheering up sounded more like a strict, mocking lecture.

"You're right…" Tsubaki shed away the last of her tears and smiled. "But the problem is.. I'm worried, I don't think he has strong feelings for me.." she tried to explain. "If he didn't bother to remember our date, then.. I guess he isn't that bothered about me either.."

"Hey, no, no, no.. That's not true..!" Maka assured her and patted her back. "I'm sure he loves you just as much as you love him."

She walked over to the front of her room and banged onto the door. "Heard that?!" she angrily whispered into the door. There was no response, causing Maka to think that either Black Star didn't hear her, or maybe he just didn't care after all.

To her surprise, the door opened and Black Star stepped forward with a serious look on his face. "Yeah, I did," he replied sternly.

"Black Star?!" Tsubaki stood up and widened her eyes in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"Tsubaki.. I'm not good at expressing my emotions, but.. I like you a lot, seriously, and.. I think that it's about time I face up to my fears and show it to you." With that statement, he rushed over to her, wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and kissed her, surprising her, Maka, Soul, and even Kid.

Soul couldn't help but gasp and utter a few words of shock. "Oh my god…"

Black Star finally let go of the kiss and blushed. "I was scared that.. I might be a loser at these kind of things and.. I was afraid that it might be a turn-off.."

Tsubaki blushed and covered her face. "I… I liked that, Black Star.."

And to her shock, and everyone else's, Black Star grinned and suggested something that probably killed off the rest of the people in that living room for a split second.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go even further…!!"

With that, he dragged her to Maka's bedroom and shut the door, much to Tsubaki's protests and embarrassment, leaving two dumbstruck models and a speechless photographer, silently and motionlessly sitting in the living room.

Maka broke the silence by confirming whether that had actually happened. "Did that just happen or….?"

"Yup, that happened.." Soul confirmed, still sounding surprised.

"……………" For once, Kid didn't have something to say, even though he was the type of person who always had something to say about everything.

"Black Star, stop it…" Loud, passionate moans and cries were heard penetrating through the walls, causing them to feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Please, let's get of here. Please, let's get out of here!!" Soul begged and rushed to the door, immediately followed straight by Maka and Kid.

They shut the door behind them and sighed in relief.

"Well, I guess my apartment's taken…" Maka mumbled. "It's as if Blair came over to visit..!" she joked with a laugh.

"So, what do we do now?" Kid inquired, which was what all of them was wondering.

"I think they're gonna be there the whole night.. Maka, do you have a place to stay?" Soul asked, turning to Maka.

"Blair never comes home until late night, and she's definitely gonna be with a guy and.. I don't have any friends nearby…" she explained in hopelessness. "I don't know what to do…" she mumbled.

"You can stay at my place for the night," Kid offered casually.

"No way! I'm not gonna trust her with you!" Soul protested.

Maka sighed as they began to quarrel again, as usual.

Finally, Kid came up with a solution. "How about this? Let's flip a coin and whoever wins gets to take Maka-san home," he suggested and took out a quarter.

"Great, now I feel like some kind of takeaway.." Maka muttered sarcastically.

"Heads," Kid stated and flipped the coin. He uncovered the coin and gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn it.." he cursed.

"Ha! I won!!" Soul declared proudly. "In your face!!"

Maka rolled her eyes and glanced at the both of them. "So, I'm gonna be staying at Soul's, then?"

"If you don't mind, yeah," Soul confirmed with a smirk.

"But if you don't want to, you can always stay at my place!" Kid insisted.

"Hey, I won, fair and square! She's coming with me!" With that, Soul grasped Maka's arm and took her down the stairs, followed by Kid.

* * *

They reached the gate and said their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Kid-kun, thanks for offering me to stay at your place, that was really kind of you," Maka thanked with a smile.

Kid nodded and smiled back. "Anytime, Maka-san," he replied casually.

Soul rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well, see you, Kid… It was.. Alright, seeing you," he forcefully said. It was hard for him to say a decent thing, especially to Death the Kid.

Kid smiled and shrugged. "Nice seeing you too, Soul. We'll cross paths again, that's for sure." With that, Liz and Patti arrived on a limousine, and waved to them.

"Hi, Maka-chan~!!" they greeted, to which Maka nodded and waved back in response.

"Bye, Soul. Maka-san." With that, Kid got into the car and drove off.

"Maka, wanna get going?" Soul took out his keys and turned on the motorcycle.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"Wow, you live in a penthouse?!" Maka spread her arms open and spun around whilst glancing around at the wide space and beautiful view.

"Well.. Yeah." Soul shrugged and closed the door. "Like it?"

"Heck, yeah! I wish I could afford a place like this!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, the best thing is, there's a great view from here, especially at night." Soul walked over to her and took her to the huge glass window, which showed a clear view of the starry night sky, skyscrapers, and the bustling street below. "See?"

"Wow…." Maka observed the constellations and dark, midnight sky. "It's beautiful.."

"Right?" Soul walked over to the bedroom and opened the door. "Unluckily, I only have one bedroom, even though this place is huge so.. You have to sleep in my room, if that's alright with you."

"What about you?" Maka shifted her eyes to him. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"On the couch, I guess," he replied with a shrug.

"What?! No, that's not fair! I'll sleep on the couch, I already owe you a favour for letting me stay here!" she protested.

Soul smiled. "Ever the sincere and selfless one, aren't you? I guess that's what I like about you.."

Maka blushed looked away. "So, I guess I'll go to sleep now then.." she mumbled and laid down on the couch.

But to her surprise, and shock, Soul lifted her from the couch, bridal style, and carried her to his room and laid her on the bed. "You're sleeping here, after all, you're a guest," he sternly told her with a slight smirk. "'Night, Maka."

With that, he walked out the room and closed the door behind him.

Maka sighed and glanced around the room. "Wow, it's huge…" She then noticed an acoustic guitar in the corner and walked over to it. "Cool…" She stroked a finger across the strings, which created a melodic tone. "So he's also a musician..?"

* * *

As she laid on the bed, fully awake, she noticed that the weather was turning a bit cold. "I wonder how he's doing out there…" She decided to check up on him so she quietly opened the door and tiptoed outside.

"Soul…?" she whispered.

He was asleep on the couch, lying in the foetal position and hugging himself to keep himself warm from the cold. Maka sighed in sympathy and went back to her room. She pulled the blanket off the mattress and dragged it outside to the couch. "Silly Soul…" she muttered jokingly as she draped the blanket over him.

"Good night," she whispered and headed back to her room.

* * *

The mobile rang and vibrated, causing it to fall off from the desk.

Maka yawned and reached out to grab it. She flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Maka-san?"

"Kid-kun..? How'd you -."

"I got your number from Liz who got it from your boss," he cut through.

"Oh…" She paused for a moment and yawned. "What's up?"

"Sorry to interrupt you while you were sleeping but I'm inviting you and Soul to come over to my cousin's private beach for the weekend. Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patti are also coming."

"Wha-?! Private beach?!" Maka fell off the bed in surprise and hit the floor. "Ow…. Um, so wait, can you explain it further?"

"I have a few days off so I decided to go to the beach, we'll all meet at my place. So are you and Soul free?"

"Ah…" Maka thought for a moment. "I don't have any photo shoots for this whole week so, yeah, I can go. I'll ask Soul when he wakes up, and when do we meet up?"

"We meet up at two at my place, Soul knows where I live," Kid informed.

"Oh ok, bye."

"Bye."

She hung up, rubbed her eyes, and yawned. "I guess I'd better go tell Soul then.." She walked out of the room and over to the couch. Soul was still there, but half-asleep.

"Soul..?"

"Maka?" He blinked a few times, yawned, and got up. "Mornin'," he casually greeted.

"Actually, it's past noon, but that's not the point." Maka sat down next to him and smiled. "Kid asked us if we wanted to go to his cousin's private beach for the weekend. I already agreed that I'd go since I don't have any photo shoots, what about you?"

Soul frowned and heaved a sigh. "I don't have anything to do either, but…" He rolled his eyes and got up. "It's Death the Kid, so.."

Maka got up after him and put her hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, it'll be fun!" she urged cheerily, causing him to sigh again and turn around.

"…Alright, I'll go."

* * *

A weekend at the beach? How's that gonna turn out? Wait for the next chapter~! ^^

Note: Some of you might wonder 'where's Soul's piano?', well, that's gonna be introduced later in next chapter as one of the noted points. ^^ (Maka's gonna get charmed by him~ ;D)

Reviews please? :3 I'll make sure to update as soon as I can~! ^^


	4. The Glass of Wine

Long update, I know ¬¬ My files got deleted 'cause of a stupid virus and I have to re-write all of the pre-written chapters… anyway, reviews please~! Appreciated~!

Note: There is a _Scrubs_ reference in this chapter, if you watch the TV show, try to find it~! :D

* * *

Chapter Four - The Glass of Wine

"Kid-kun~! We're here~!" Maka waved her hand to them as she tried to stand up from Soul's motorcycle.

"Maka-san, Soul, hi..!" Kid walked over to them, followed closely by Tsubaki. It was obvious to see that she was still shy and embarrassed about what'd happened last night.

"Um.. Hi…" she managed to greet nervously and slowly waved. Maka and Soul grinned; it was quite amusing to see her reaction after losing her virginity, especially in Maka's bedroom.

"Yahoo~! Hi!!!!" Out of nowhere, Black Star came crashing down onto the pavement floor and grinned awkwardly. Soul and Kid rolled their eyes and sighed. Typical.

Maka shrugged and smiled. "Wanna get going?"

* * *

"Wow, this is beautiful~!" Maka stepped out from the van and sunk her feet into the soft, white sand. "Oh god… that feels so good…"

Soul and Kid blushed and averted their eyes away from her. "You know, that can sound so disturbing in so many ways…" Soul mumbled nervously. He then moved his eyes to observe the sea and sighed.

"Feels good to take a break once in a while."

"Oh god, I could actually die happy now…" Liz adjusted her shades as she relaxed on the deck chair and applied sun screen on her arms and legs. Patti giggled and continued to build her sand castle with Tsubaki. Maka walked past them and headed down the shore to collect seashells.

"Eagle~!!!" Before she could even turn around in confusion and surprise, Maka was pounced by Black Star, causing the both of them to collapse into the sand, face down.

"Black Star!!" Maka whined crossly as she got up and dusted the sand off her arms. The blue haired troublemaker grinned and laughed in amusement.

He then remembered that he had a reason for coming over to her. He needed her to do a favour.

"Hey Maka, can you do me a favour?"

"Yeah, what?"

He paused as his cheeks flushed pink. "Can you…switch rooms with me?"

She frowned in confusion and surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked concernedly.

"You're sharing a room with Tsubaki, right? Do you think we could swap places? I sleep with Soul and Kid."

She thought for a moment in silence; she was really supportive of Black Star and Tsubaki's relationship but sleeping with guys sounded pretty awkward. But it then occurred to her that they weren't just _any_ guys, they were Soul and Kid, who were of course, her friends.

".. Yeah, alright."

He grinned and jumped up in excitement and relief. "Really?! Thanks a bunch!!"

As she sighed and continued to brush the sand off her body, Maka noticed that she hadn't seen Soul or Kid since they got off the van.

"Hey, Black Star… have you seen Soul or Kid-kun?" she asked concernedly.

He frowned for a moment as he tried to think then replied, "Um, yeah.. I think I saw Soul in the hotel.."

She nodded and headed to the hotel to find him; it didn't occur to her that she didn't have any business with him and that she didn't have a reason to see him.

As she walked into the hotel and headed to the reception, she heard a low, melodic song being played from a piano. "I wonder who's playing that…" The melody was so overwhelming; it was a combination of low keys and repeating choruses, leaving listeners with a bittersweet feeling in their chests, one that felt so wonderful yet melancholic.

Maka closed her eyes and continued to listen, forgetting the whole fact that she'd come to look for Soul. The tune was so beautiful yet gloomily sad. It felt like heartbreak.

She slowly fluttered her eyes open and shivered. It occurred to her how incredible music could have such an impact on people, but right then, she was focused on finding Soul.

Her first thought was to see if he was in the guest room so she headed there. If he wasn't there, she'd take the lift to check if he was in his room. To her surprise, she saw that it was Soul who'd been playing that inspirational song. She then realized that he didn't notice that she was there so she decided to continue to listen to him play.

As the song came to an end, Maka unconsciously let out a sigh of ecstasy and disappointment, causing Soul to instantly turn around in surprise.

They both widened their eyes in shock as they silently stared at each other for a moment.

"M-Maka…?"

"Um, hi.. Soul."

His eyebrows furrowed as his surprised face turned into a frown. "What are you doing here?" he asked strictly.

"I, um…" She found herself stuttering as she continuously glanced away from his piercing crimson eyes. "I.. was looking for you.." she managed to explain nervously.

He abruptly got up from his seat, causing her to jerk and back away in surprise and fright. He then stared at her angrily for a moment, not saying a word, making her feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

"I don't like people to listen to my music," he sternly stated and walked out of the hotel, brushing past her shoulder.

She sighed and cussed herself softly in guilt.

"Damn it, you screwed up again…"

"Maka?"

She turned around to see Kid, staring at her, holding a glass of vodka. He instantly saw that she was feeling upset.

"What's wrong?"

Maka gritted her teeth as she tried to tell him what had happened.

"Kid-kun… did you ever hear Soul play the piano?"

To her surprise, he sighed and laughed in relief.

"So that's the problem? Gosh, I thought it was something else..!"

He shut up as he noticed that she'd glared at him. He cleared his throat nervously and continued.

"Well, I heard him play once when we were in university. Actually, he didn't know that I was hiding and listening and when he found out… Heh, he gave me a good shouting at."

Maka frowned in confusion. "Why does he hate people to listen to his music so much? I mean, he's brilliant at it!"

He sighed and smiled casually. "Soul's not much of a social guy, he might not show it, but he's extremely shy."

"What…?! Soul, shy?!"

Kid let out a laugh and covered his mouth. "Yeah, sounds hard to believe, huh? And when it comes to music, he's as timid as a wild deer."

Maka tried to stifle her laugh as she found his simile too amusing and corny. "So.. You think he's angry at me?"

Maka bit her lip as she hoped that the answer would be 'no.'

"To be honest, being Soul, he's definitely mad at you."

* * *

"Maka! Hey, Maka!" Black Star ran over to the worried girl and flashed her a concerned look.

"Did something happen between you and Soul? He stormed past me a while ago."

She sighed and bit her lip. "Yeah.. I'll sort it out."

"Mm.. Ok. But just so you know, Soul's the kind of guy who usually holds grudges and man, he can stay mad for a _really_ long time..!"

"Great…" Maka sarcastically replied and walked off.

She'd searched for over an hour but couldn't find him. "Where the heck are you, Soul…?" she mumbled and threw a pebble into the sea in frustration. She then noticed that the sun had begun to set. It was already getting late.

She crossed her fingers as she headed back to the hotel; she'd be extremely relieved and lucky if Soul was in his room.

* * *

"Hello?" Maka poked her head into the room and stepped in. No-one was there, neither Soul nor Kid.

"Hm." She hopped onto her bed and stretched in relaxation. She then proceeded to roll over and make herself comfortable. That was when, to her shock, Kid stepped out from the bathroom, in a pink bathrobe and a towel over his neck.

"Maka-san?" His face flushed pink as he realized that he was wearing a rather embarrassing coloured bathrobe.

"Kid-kun?" She instantly got up and shifted her eyes to stare at the bathrobe. "Um…"

Kid noticed her reaction and immediately tried to explain the situation. "I, uh, well.. They only had one coloured bathrobe! I had to use it!" he desperately shouted.

"I didn't exactly say anything but ok…" Maka mumbled and formed a slight smirk.

"So.. Enjoyed the beach?" he asked casually as he pulled up his trousers and threw off his bathrobe, exposing his torso.

Maka instantly averted her eyes as her face furiously flushed a crimson colour. It was the first time she'd seen his body exposed and she certainly didn't expect it, she had to admit though, that he had a really appealing and attractive body. Heck, if she wasn't a strong oblivious person, she'd probably easily be seduced by him.

"Y-yeah.." she stuttered nervously. He grinned and nodded. "Um…" She then remembered that she still hadn't seen Soul.

"Kid-kun, have you seen Soul?"

He instantly dropped his smile as he heard her say his name and shrugged. "No, I haven't." He then walked over to his table and poured himself a glass of wine. "But, knowing Soul.. He's probably sleeping at the shore or something.."

Maka stifled her laugh as she tried not to find that comment hard to believe. "Seriously?"

He nodded and sat next to her. "Yeah, he's the type of guy who can sleep anywhere and he usually enjoys watching the sun, especially when he's in a bad mood.."

"Oh…" Maka pouted and sighed. "I guess I'll definitely see him there then.." She then glanced at his glass of wine and smiled. "Kid-kun, is it just me, or is it that every time I see you, you're usually drinking?"

He glanced down at his glass and laughed in amusement. "Heh, I assumed you'd say that some time, everyone does. I don't tend to get drunk but I enjoy a glass of alcohol once in a while… ok well, a few times a day." He shifted his eyes to the ceiling and shrugged. "Except beer, I hate that. I only drink vodka, martinis, wine, and some other stuff.."

Maka frowned as she noticed that most of the liquors that he drank were pretty expensive. "Well, I guess that's Kid-kun to you.." she mumbled to herself. She had to admit though, gradually getting to know him was fun and it kind of made her glad to know a bit more of about him, even if it was just about what he tends to drink.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." She got up abruptly and turned around. "I think I'll take a stroll down the beach."

As she headed for the door, his voice stopped her. "Maka-san."

"Yes?" She swerved her neck around to look at him.

"I'm sure Soul will forgive you, and…"

"And…?"

"There's always me, right?"

Although Maka didn't quite understand what he meant by his last comment, she nodded and smiled.

"Right."

* * *

To be continued.

Note: This is pretty much meant to be one whole chapter, but it was a bit too long so I divided it into two chapters.

So, what did Kid mean by his last comment? And how is Soul and Maka's encounter going to turn out? (And also.. Did you find the _Scrubs_ reference? :D)

Until the next chapter~! ^^


	5. The Self contained Pianist

Haha~! I had a feeling that the last bit of the 4th chapter would create some confusion and such~! Love Triangle? I'm not gonna answer that, you'll just have to continue reading and see~! (I'm pretty annoying, I know xD) Here's part two of the 4th chapter~!

Thanks for adding my story to your favourites and alerts~! (Reviews are also really appreciated~ :3 .. Please? XD Haha, don't mind it, it's up to you. ^^)

And by the way, just asking since I want to know what readers think so I can use it to help my story but, who do you prefer Maka to end up with? Soul or Kid? (Or Black Star??)

Note: The _Scrubs_ reference was when Black Star yelled 'Eagle'. ^^ It's a bit hard maybe? JD always says that. XD

* * *

Chapter Five - The Self-Contained Pianist

Maka exited the hotel and walked down the sandy white shore. The sky was turning a dark shade of blue and stars were becoming more visible. But something else caught her attention.

"Soul~!"

She ran over to the white-haired model who was fast asleep on a picnic blanket with his hands under his head. He didn't hear her.

"Wow.. Kid-kun was right.." she mumbled in slight fascination as she knelt down and sat next to him.

"Hey Soul…"

He didn't respond; he was still drifting in his sleep. Maka smiled and let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, ok? I didn't know that you were so self-conscious about your music."

There was a short silence as she stopped talking abruptly and nudged closer to him.

"… Don't mind it."

She jerked up in surprise and immediately widened her eyes and stared at him. A slight grin formed around the corner of his mouth and he slowly opened an eye.

"You were awake the whole time?!"

He nodded and widened his grin into a smirk.

"So I guess you have a soft side too, huh?"

Maka rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're such a.." She cut off her sentence and turned around to glare at him. "Well, you probably know anyway."

He nodded and sat up. "Ever wondered why I get so angry if someone hears me play the piano?"

She quieted down and nodded, urging him to tell her why.

He opened his mouth to say something but abruptly shut up. ".. Have you ever heard of Wes Evans?" he asked out of the blue.

She frowned but nodded. "Yeah, he's that famous violinist in London, isn't he your brother?"

Soul nodded and put on a serious face. "I suppose you've heard that he's extremely talented.." He paused, grabbed a pebble and threw it into the waves. "I'm nowhere near his level, I'm nothing compared to him.. So until I become his equal.. I don't want anyone to hear me play."

"Ah…" Maka wanted to say something but she decided not to say it at the last minute.

"But I guess you already think I'm a jerk, right?"

She instantly turned around in surprise. "What? No!" she loudly denied, causing him to laugh in amusement.

"I just…" she paused for a minute as she tried to come up with words that thoroughly described what she actually thought of him. ".. I think you're a self-contained guy, that's all. Y'know, like a loner."

He nodded and thought for a moment. "Hm, a loner, huh? You could say that.. But to be honest, I've always been scared of making contact with people."

She frowned in surprise and confusion. "What? Why?"

".. That's just the way I am, I guess."

"…"

Maka silenced herself and glanced down at his hand.

"Well…"

Her voice trailed off as she nudged herself closer to him and took hold of his hand with hers.

He widened his eyes and jerked up in surprise, causing her to let out a slight giggle.

"You're making contact with me right now, are you scared?" she asked teasingly.

He frowned and sighed. "I guess I'll just come clean.." He put on a small smile and relaxed. ".. More than you could ever be." And he squeezed her hand tightly.

* * *

Kid looked down at the pair who were engaging in a conversation down at the beach shore. His eyes were piercingly serious and his face turned into a grimace. He then glanced up at the sky which had turned a dark shade of midnight blue with sparkling stars decorating the vast sea of azure.

He swirled his glass around, causing the purple liquid to swish around like a high tide.

"What do you have that I don't?"

* * *

"Hey, Kid-kun~!"

The door creaked open and in stepped Soul and Maka.

"Maka-san, Soul." Kid stared at them for a moment, then rested his glass on a table and walked over to them. He instantly changed his look into a gentler one as he fixed his eyes at Maka's.

"Maka-san, Black Star just headed downstairs, do you want to go and see Tsubaki-san?" he suggested politely.

She thought to herself silently for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll do that," she agreed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"What are you thinking, Kid?" Soul instantly saw through the black-haired aristocrat who had a cold, emotionless glint in his eyes.

Kid ignored him and walked over to the window to gaze at the stars, causing him to get irritated and follow him.

"Who is Maka in your eyes?"

That one question surprised the hell out of the white-haired youth and he instantly turned to frown at him.

Kid continued to coldly stare at him but broke off the silence.

"Acquaintance? Friend?" He paused for a moment and deepened his emotionless stare. "… Crush?"

Soul immediately blushed and averted his eyes from Kid's.

"What the hell are you implying?" he demanded in a lower tone. "Of course, she's my friend."

A slight smirk formed on the edge of Kid's mouth as his eyes turned a deeper shade of saffron.

"What do you take me for, an idiot?" he inquired.

A grin formed on Soul's mouth as he was about to say something but Kid saw through him.

"And don't use that dull-witted sarcasm of yours," he added.

Soul sighed and pouted. "You know, you're a jerk when there's just the two of us," he implied.

"Deal with it." Kid leaned against the windowsill and continued to stare at him. He then said something that would linger in Soul's mind throughout the rest of his time.

"I just want to tell you that.."

He paused for a moment but continued.

"Whether or not you have romantic feelings for her, I'm not backing down."

* * *

"Guys!!"

The door slammed open and to Kid and Soul's surprise, Black Star stepped in, looking worried and shocked.

"Oh great, you're both here!" he exclaimed in relief.

"What's up?" Soul asked as he tried to brush aside what had just happened earlier.

"I need your help," he explained, huffing tiredly with each breath. "Tsubaki wants me to help arrange Maka's surprise birthday party."

"Birthday?"

Soul and Kid inquired at the same time in surprise and confusion.

"Yeah, didn't you know? Maka's birthday is like, in two weeks."

Soul frowned but nodded wordlessly and glanced at Kid who looked like he already had something planned.

Kid smirked and crossed his arms.

"Well, I guess I'd better make this her birthday to remember."


	6. The Chords and the Kiss

So I got a few replies to the 'Soul or Kid' question, and to my expectations, all of them said 'Soul'! Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of both of the pairings (with the Soul and Maka pairing being more dominant) but then again, like ambrie-chan said, if this wasn't a Soul/Maka pairing, then why would it be in this category? But who knows? I'm the most random person ever, so… you never know what's on my mind so most of my stories take a twist in later chapters. Anyway, I'm not revealing anything yet so, you'll have to catch up with the story~! ;3

Replying to the reviews: Yes, the Kid in this story is kind of an obsessive ass so I'm not surprised if you're irritated by him. XD And thanks for answering my question, your replies will greatly affect the story~!

Another request for more Soul/Maka moments, replying, OKAY~! ^^ Sure I will~!

By the way, I noticed in the manga or anime that Soul's room has a guitar so I kind of assumed that he could play it? Anyway, it's included in this story so yeah. Another question (sorry but I think it's good to know what the readers think too): so how long do you think this story should go on for? And if you have any requests, feel free to tell me~!

The reference to the book in this chapter is _Vanilla_, a romance story that I'm writing on FictionPress dot com. My link's on my profile page. :3

Quick Notice: This fanfic is updated either monthly or every 2-3 weeks, but I have mock exams, MCM anime expo, and my actual exams bundled up for the coming weeks so updates might be a bit slower. D: I have to revise and also prepare my cosplay. :/ So I decided to make this chapter extra long . (well, longer than other chapters of my stories xD) And um, I'd really like you to review~! It's appreciated~! Heck, I might as well write it quicker if you do~! XD

I hope you enjoy this story so far~! I'll keep you anticipated~!

Reviews equals to love~! :3

* * *

Chapter Six - The Chords and the Kiss

The days went by like hours. As Soul, Black Star and Kid desperately and hurriedly tried to arrange Maka's surprise birthday party, with the spare keys to Maka's apartment that been lent to them by Tsubaki, they forgot one certain thing: their presents.

"What should I get for her…?" Soul wondered as he searched through the mall. Sure there were many appropriate birthday gifts, like plush dolls, chocolates, and other formal items but he wanted something different. He wanted to give her something that meant a lot to him, and would hopefully mean a lot to her too.

As he gave up and decided to head back home, an idea suddenly flashed into his head.

"I've got an idea…"

* * *

Death the Kid entered the vast bookstore and took in a breath of air. The smell of old books, an almost dry earthy smell fascinated him. How wonderful this place was.

"Excuse me, do you know where the romance section is?" he formally asked the receptionist.

She pointed him out and he headed his way.

As he trailed a finger through the sides of the books and glanced down the row of romance novels, his eyes became fixed on a certain novel that stood hidden in a stack of thick books.

"Found it."

* * *

Black Star rushed down the street and desperately tried to search for an appropriate gift to give to his girlfriend's friend, who was also his friend. Time was surely, quickly running out. The party was tonight and he still hadn't found a present for her.

"Argh! How hard is it to just find a gift for a chick?"

* * *

"I'm heading home now, bye people~!" Maka waved goodbye, left the studio and glanced down at her watch.

6:03 p.m.

"So I guess my birthday's just another normal day, huh?" she mumbled in a sad, dry voice as she heaved a sigh and waved for a taxi.

The keys jingled as she tried to pick out the one that opened the lock to her apartment door. The sun had already set and the sky was beginning to grow dark. She'd gotten no calls or texts from anybody that day, not Soul, Kid, nor Tsubaki, which quite saddened her since she'd expected at least a happy birthday text. It was hard to shrug off but she managed; she twisted the key and opened the door.

"Surprise~!"

The lights flicked on and to her shock, she was enthusiastically greeted by Soul, Tsubaki, Kid and the rest of her friends who'd hosted a party for her in her apartment.

It was an unexpected moment, but a delightful one.

One that brought a smile to her face.

"Aw, thanks, you guys!" she managed to exclaim as she rushed over to them and gave them a wide, open hug, causing Soul and Kid to instantly blush in surprise and nervousness.

She felt so joyful at that moment that she could actually cry right there, but of course, that would be rather embarrassing. So she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and put on a wide grin.

Party time.

"Maka, Maka! C'mon! Let's have a drink~!" Black Star enthusiastically shouted as he dragged her over to a table aligned with tons of drinks, all of which consisted of alcohol.

"Alcohol…?" she mumbled, the least amused. He nodded with a grin and nudged her shoulder.

"Aw, come on, once in a while's ok, right?" he urged, causing her to roll her eyes, heave a sigh, and oblige.

Maka snatched the glass of tequila cocktail and swallowed it down in one gulp, causing the rest of the people to gasp and widen their eyes in shock. Soul hurriedly rushed over to her and forcefully took the glass away from her hand, much to her constant protests.

"You're not supposed to drink it like that!" he shouted concernedly. "You're gonna get drunk!"

"Whatever…." she mumbled and shrugged it off.

"Maka-san, do you want to open the presents?" Kid casually suggested as he took her by the hand and walked her to the living room, shooting a snide smirk at Soul to infuriate him. Soul gritted his teeth and followed them, continuously glaring at Kid.

"Here." Kid smiled and handed her his present, which was a small rectangular-shaped box wrapped in blue wrapping paper and tied with a scarlet ribbon.

"Thank you." She accepted it and pulled the ribbon off, revealing the contents of the present to be a novel.

"Isn't this… _Vanilla_?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she tore away the rest of the wrapping paper and revealed the rest of the edges of the book. Indeed it was.

"Yeah, do you like it?" His smile widened as he cocked his head aside nervously. "I reckoned that you might like romance books and well, I like this book too…" His voice began to trail off as he blushed nervously.

"I love it." Just those words made him feel as if a load was lifted and he heaved a sigh of relief. She smiled again as she brought the book close to her chest. "I love books, It's a great present. Thank you, Kid-kun."

Soul felt his eyebrow twitch a little as he made a grim and frustrated face, crossed his arms and turned his head away from them. "Stupid stuck-up little faker…" he mumbled crossly at Kid.

"Hey Maka, open mine's next," Liz urged as she came over to them with Patti by her side. Maka nodded and picked up the glittery pink gift box. She uncovered the wrapping paper, revealing a make-up set.

"A make-up set..?" she muttered in slight surprise and wonder. Liz nodded and grinned.

"I reckoned you weren't the type who cared much about her looks so, I decided, that's where I step in," she explained.

"Um, gee.. Thanks."

"Maka-chan~! Maka-chan~! Mine next!" Patti enthusiastically urged as she carried her polka dotted paper wrapped present and dropped it in front of her with a cheerful grin. Maka forced on a smile and nodded as she carefully unwrapped the present, revealing a huge giraffe plush doll.

"Oh, that's so cute~!" she exclaimed as she lifted it up and gazed at it. "Thank you, Patti-chan~!"

"Hee hee, Patti-sama knows best~!" She grinned and crossed her arms in satisfaction.

"Black Star, did you bring a present for Maka-chan?" Tsubaki asked, noticing that he wasn't holding a gift of any sort.

"Huh? Yeah! 'Course I did!" he quickly replied, almost nervously. She continuously stared at him, seeing through his stature.

Maka turned around to glance at the both of them, noticing something peculiar. "Black Star, if you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing a ribbon around your head?" she inquired out of curiosity and wonder.

He grinned and laughed. "That's because, _I'm_ your present~!" he loudly declared in pride and abruptly jumped up.

There was a short silence as they all stared in disbelief but suddenly burst out laughing in amusement.

"Seriously, Black Star, you're such a joker~!" Maka exclaimed through her fit of laughs. "But, thanks! Though I think I'll return you to Tsubaki-chan."

"Speaking of Tsubaki, what did you bring for her?" Black Star turned to look at Tsubaki, who then took out a red bag.

"Um, I bought you a dress, though I don't know if you'd like it…" she mumbled softly and nervously.

"Of course I'd like it! Thanks a lot!" She paused as she dug her hand in the bag and carefully pulled out the dress. It was a beautiful azure dress, long and elegant and as blue as the sea at dusk. It could easily be said that Tsubaki had excellent taste in clothing. "I love this~!" Maka exclaimed sincerely as she continued to gaze at it.

Tsubaki smiled and blushed shyly. "That's a relief," she said with a sigh.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna go and try this on," Maka excitedly stated as she abruptly got up and headed to her bedroom, much to the girls' amusement.

"It's good to kick some fashion sense into that girl," Liz implied with a satisfied grin, with Patti vigorously nodding in agreement.

As they were all engaging in small talk, Soul abruptly got up, surprising and concerning Kid.

"Where are you going?" he asked in an almost demanding tone.

Soul made a half glare at him and grinned sarcastically. "To take a dump," he stated, directly annoying Kid and causing him to scoff and shut up. He smirked and walked into the bathroom.

He washed his hands, continuously glancing up at the mirror and splashing water on his hair to shape into spikes. But something behind him that was visible in the mirror caught his attention.

"A door?"

There were two doors connecting to the bathroom; one that Soul entered from the living room and the other leading to…?

He frowned and tipped his head to one side. He definitely felt curious as to where it lead to, although he was almost sure that it led to Maka's bedroom where she was changing into her new dress. He was fully aware that he might actually run into her half naked but strangely, knowing that, he found himself twisting the doorknob, opening the door and taking a step in.

"Soul?"

Maka instantly covered her body with the bed sheets, blushing furiously in embarrassment and shock.

"M-Maka?" He was taken aback, even though he knew that this might've happened. Even though she covered her body with the sheets, he already caught a glimpse of her half naked body. Although he felt relieved that she was in her underwear and bra, there was a hidden part of him concealed inside that felt slightly disappointed, causing him to blush and avert his eyes. "S-sorry," he stuttered as he rushed back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes shut. "Damn it.." It felt like eternity had drifted by even though it was just mere seconds.

"Soul?"

The door opened, causing him to fall flat on his back in front of Maka.

"Oh, sorry."

He stared up at her face, unblinking and silent. She stared back at him, still blushing but managing to put a smile on her face, which eased him a little.

"I'm sorry.." he apologized slowly and guiltily.

Her eyebrows shifted to form a half-frown, half-smile.

"It's alright."

* * *

"Maka-san.. Soul?"

Kid immediately sat up and frowned at them in shock and confusion. Soul rolled his eyes and ignored him whereas Maka smiled shyly and brushed her dress.

"How do I look?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Stunning," Liz complimented with a thumbs-up sign. Patti nodded enthusiastically and grinned.

"You look beautiful," Kid casually complimented with a formal smile, causing Soul to forcefully cough in sarcasm.

"Aw, thanks~! I actually thought it might not look good on me since I don't really have a great body…" she mumbled, her voice drifting off in each word.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Soul assured casually. "You look alright."

"That's the best you can say?"

He shrugged and nodded. "I'm not so good at complimenting and such."

"Fair enough." She smiled and walked over to get a drink.

With that, Kid walked over to Soul and whispered furiously in his ear, "Why the hell did you two come out together? And from her room too..!"

The white-haired model scoffed sarcastically and posed a relaxed stance. "Damn, you're such an obsessive freak," he muttered. He then smirked and shifted himself closer to Kid's ear, causing him to jerk up in surprise. "I saw her in her underwear," he whispered conceitedly. Kid's eyes widened in surprise then turned to glare at him in fury and disbelief.

"What…?"

He chucked and nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

What followed was a loud snap and a smashing sound. Soul's back smashed against the wall and he slid to the fall in surprise and pain. Kid stood a few inches away, eyes alert and raging. His fist had balled up and was bruising red from hitting against Soul's face. A loud rattling sound was heard as Maka's glass slipped from her hand and smashed onto the floor and she turned around in surprise and confusion.

"What was that?"

Her eyes shifted from Kid to Soul and quickly examined and figured out what had happened. What followed was the sound of grinding teeth and loud stomps.

"Fighting? Again?" Her raging loud voice echoed through the walls and surprised everyone, especially those that had no idea what was going on, like Black Star and Tsubaki.

Soul groaned and wiped the blood trickling down his mouth. "He punched me," he stated, almost childlike.

Kid kissed his teeth sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "That's 'cause you're such an insolent-"

"Shut up!" Maka was on the verge of snapping and everyone was as fully aware of that so they all fell silent. She gradually calmed down and tried to keep her cool.

"I'm not gonna let this ruin today, so let's forget about this. At least do it for me?"

Soul and Kid slowly nodded obediently, guilt-stricken.

"Yeah, ok."

* * *

"Ah.. I think I should be heading back now. I have this important meeting tomorrow," Tsubaki stated as she glanced down at her watch. "Happy birthday, Maka. It was a great party."

"Hey wait! Shouldn't a boyfriend escort his lady back home?" Black Star immediately got up and turned to look pleadingly at the host.

Maka rolled her eyes and smiled. "Sure, go on. Take care, you guys."

"Hey, shouldn't we get going too?" Liz implied as she glanced at the clock and tugged at Patti's sleeve. "We have to prepare for Kid's presentation tomorrow." She turned to look at Kid. "You've got an audition for a catwalk, right? We'd better get some sleep and preparation."

The black-haired model groaned in frustration. "Ugh…" He got up and turned to look at his crush in regret. "I guess I'll have to go.. Bye Maka-san."

She nodded and waved her hand. "Bye, Kid-kun. Thanks very much for the present~."

He nodded but something else caught his attention. "Doesn't that mean you'll be alone with Soul then?"

Soul groaned and buried his head between his legs. "Seriously, you're too obsessive. What do you think I'm gonna do? Rape her? I wouldn't dare, you know, she packs quite a punch."

She grinned in content and agreement and shifted her eyes back to Kid. "It's ok, really," she assured.

"… Alright then."

He turned and headed for the door, followed by Liz and Patti. He sure as hell didn't want to leave, especially with Soul still being there, but he really didn't have a choice. He reluctantly opened the door, turned to look at her, and left.

Now it was just Soul and Maka in the apartment.

"Whew, he's gone." Soul laid back against the couch and yawned. "Finally."

He then remembered something and sat back up. "Oh right, I got a present for you too."

She tipped her head in surprise. "You do?"

He nodded and dived to the side of the couch, grabbing a guitar case. It seemed heavy, like something was inside.

"Here."

"Huh? Isn't that your guitar? I saw it in your bedroom," she implied in surprise and wonder.

He nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to give you a present that meant something to me." He then zipped it open and took out the guitar inside. He brushed his fingers against the strings, causing a low humming noise to emit from it. She observed his facial expressions from doing so; it was strange and fascinating, the way his eyes would shift from raging scarlet to a calmer shade of maroon whenever he touched a musical instrument. It brought a smile to her face.

"That's.. really nice of you, Soul. But.. I don't know how to play a guitar," she mumbled softly in embarrassment and guilt.

But to her surprise, he laughed and put on a wide confident grin. "That's where I step in," he stated openly.

"Seriously? You're gonna teach me?" she inquired in surprise and disbelief.

His grin shifted to a gentler smile. "Yeah."

"I.. Thank you so much, Soul. Really, this means so much to me. You're so wonderful," she thanked breathlessly, dumbstruck by his compassion. The next thing she knew, she'd unconsciously hugged him around the waist.

"M-Maka?" He didn't resist her but he sure as hell was shocked and confused.

"Thanks." Her voice was muffled by his jacket pressing against her face, which was snuggling comfortably between his torso. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his waist and he could feel her warmth against his body. He was still surprised but quickly eased and relaxed, slowly and reluctantly wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"No problem."

She slowly lifted her face to meet his and silently gazed at his scarlet eyes.

"Um, sorry." She instantly realized what she was doing and quickly shifted away, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's alright."

And to her shock and surprise, he lightly tapped her chin with his hand and leaned over to gently press his lips to hers.

It lasted for a few seconds, although it felt to them as if eternity had passed.

Slowly, he let go and shifted his lips away from hers and stared at her for a brief moment.

She was dumbstruck and speechless; she slowly brought her fingers to her lip and blushed.

"Did you just… kiss me?"

* * *

A hug, so does that mean Maka has a crush on Soul? Or is she just thankful for his kindness? And.. a kiss? What will be their reactions? Catch up to the next chapter to find out~! ^^


	7. The Lilies of Heartbreak

Author's Note: I finished the chapter quicker than I expected! ^^ I'm gonna update as quick as possible, so keep on reading and reviewing! ^^ Haha, I seem in a good mood 'cause I did pretty well on my mock exams. :D *does a dance* Next comes the actual exams and then finishing the year~! Time flows by so fast..

The anime expo's in two more days, I'm so giddy and excited, but I have to write such a distraught chapter! D: Next anime expo (October), I'm cosplaying as Black Star~! ^^

This story isn't ending yet! There's still more drama to come! And reply to this question _after_ reading this chapter but.. Are you beginning to feel sorry for Death the Kid? Should he be with Maka or should Soul keep hold of her? ;D

Random Fact: Did you know that Blair's seiyu sings the popular Lucky Star opening song? And Death the Kid's seiyu sings Guilty Beauty Love from Ouran Host Club? (He's Tamaki's seiyu.) I just found out. XD And Chrona's seiyu is the princess in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

* * *

Chapter Seven - The Lilies of Heartbreak

Soul and Maka stared at each other silently, unblinking. Slowly, she lifted a finger up to her lips and brushed it. She continued to stare in disbelief, wondering whether or not he'd actually kissed her or it was her own imagination.

"No, sorry."

That was certainly unexpected. She widened her eyes in confusion and surprise as she frowned at him.

"What?" she said in disbelief.

He shrugged and shifted his eyes around. "I.. that was a drunken mistake. I'm sorry."

With that, he abruptly walked out of the door, leaving her dumbstruck in the middle of the living room.

She silently lifted a finger to her lip and trembled slightly.

"Idiot."

* * *

Knock, knock.

Maka sighed and waited. Tsubaki didn't pick up the phone and she sure didn't want to interrupt her, in case she was having an 'intimate' moment with Black Star. That would be embarrassing and awkward for both her and Tsubaki. But then again, of all the people to seek for comfort, why did she come to _him_?

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Who would come over at this hour?" he thought as he buttoned his shirt and pulled up a pair of trousers over his boxers. The summer weather was hot and humid, even at night. He groaned and walked over to the door and opened it. What followed was a gasp of surprise and confusion.

"Maka-san?"

"Um, hi.." she greeted nervously. "I'm sorry to interrupt you at the wrong time but.. Do you think I can.. Talk with you?"

Death the Kid smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

Kid opened the fridge and leaned down to look inside. "Can I get you something? Oh.. Crap.."

"Huh? What?" She turned around to look at what was wrong.

"Uh, are you drunk right now? 'cause I only have alcohol in my fridge…" he explained guiltily in embarrassment.

She giggled and shook her head. "I'm alright, thanks."

He poured himself half a glass of wine and sat down next to her.

"So, what's wrong?" he asked concernedly.

"I…" Her voice trailed off as she thought about whether she should tell him or not. But she already came over and she was looking for comfort, so why not just tell? Besides, in her view, he seemed like a really nice guy. "Soul kissed me."

He instantly choked and spilled his drink onto his shirt in surprise. "W-what..?"

She nodded calmly and blushed. "Yeah, he did… but then.. He left."

"What?"

He slammed his drink onto the glass table and stared at her demandingly. "Explain this in detail, please."

She sighed and fiddled with her fingers nervously. "I.. We were talking, he'd given me his guitar as a present. I felt really happy so I hugged him but then pulled away in embarrassment.. And then out of nowhere, he kissed me.."

"And then?"

"I was surprised and I asked him whether he'd actually kissed me to confirm it. He.. He said no and said it was a drunken mistake. Then.. He left."

"…"

Kid didn't utter a word; he sat there next to her unwavering. But abruptly, he suddenly got up and scoffed angrily.

"What the hell…? He didn't even drink any alcohol.. He's so stupid!"

"Stupid?" Maka frowned and looked up at him. "I don't think that's the right word..?"

"No, it's the exact right word," he confirmed sternly, in such a serious tone that made Maka shut up. "If… if I was in that situation, there'd be no chance, absolutely no chance that I'd run away."

Maka smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kid-kun, for comforting me. You're.. a great friend."

_Friend_.

That one word echoed in his mind as he turned to look at her with mellow eyes.

"I don't want to be a friend."

Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion as she silently stared at him, wanting him to continue.

His facial expression shifted to a calmer, mellower shade, one that didn't seem so obsessive and conceited as he usually was. It reminded her of when Soul's eyes shifted from raging and passionate to a calming shade of vermilion.

"I don't want to be a friend," he repeated. "I want to be something more."

"… What?" She sat there, baffled.

He nodded. "Is there any chance of it happening?"

At first she didn't move or say a thing, but slowly, she shook her head guiltily.

"I.. I'm sorry, Kid-kun. I.. I think I'm already in love with Soul."

* * *

Kid sat there on the couch, the glass of half-filled wine still in his hand. Maka had left a while after turning him down. She apologized and hugged him, but he still felt empty and distraught inside. He remembered having everything he ever wanted without even needing to ask twice. But this was the first time in his life, that he couldn't have what he wanted. That it was given to someone else. He lowered his glass onto the table.

He felt tears welling up in his eyes; it was the first time he'd ever felt so emotional.

"So.. Heartbreak feels like this, huh?"

He swiped his hand across the table, knocking the glass off and smashing it into a hundred tiny glistening pieces.

"It… sucks."

* * *

"Damn it!" A loud smash echoed through the alleyway as Soul punched a wooden box into a hundred pieces.

He huffed tired, furious sighs; his eyes blinked tiredly, but his pupils were still a striking passionate scarlet. Never did he feel so infuriated with himself.

"Maka.."

He fell to the floor, knocking himself against the hard brick wall.

He glanced up to the sky and gazed at the illuminating stars dancing in the vast sea of blackish navy blue. He wondered where she was right now. At home? At Tsubaki's? Was she smiling? Was she crying?

Crying.

"No." He abruptly got up and gritted his teeth, distraught at the thought of her knelt down, crying. All because of him.

He couldn't let that happen.

* * *

A loud thud was heard coming from the door, catching the heartbroken birthday girl's attention. She looked up in confusion and surprise and stared at the rattling door. A loud knock was heard coming from it.

She recognized that knock.

"Maka! Maka! Open the door!"

She heaved a sigh, got up, and headed towards the door. But strangely enough, she couldn't find herself twisting the doorknob. The thought of seeing his face again overwhelmed her.

"No," she tonelessly refused.

"… What?"

"I said no," she repeated plainly.

"Maka… don't do this," he begged in a distraught voice. It sounded like he was tired. But from what?

"Please.. Open the door. It's really important."

She gritted her teeth but slowly twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

There he stood.

Her prince charming.

The one that kissed her and left.

She then noticed that he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

Pure, white lilies.

"I know I can't pull this off but…" He shyly handed her the bunch of flowers and blushed intensely.

"I.. love you, Maka."

* * *

Death the Kid looked up and gazed at the glittering silver stars, reflecting against the dark midnight sky. He wanted to be loved, to be embraced. But by only one woman.

"I love you, Maka-san."

He wasn't about to let that love go.


	8. The Second Kiss

Author's Note: This is probably the slowest update I've ever posted. XD Been busy with sewing my Chrona cosplay outfit (I've changed my cosplay to Chrona since Black Star doesn't really suit me) and also revising like crazy for the end of year exams. Anyway, I'll hopefully make this chapter worth waiting for~! ^^ Oh by the way, I've been thinking of a theme song for this fanfic (when you're busy sewing, your mind goes adrift XD) and does anyone have any ideas? I was listening to 'Loop' by Maaya Sakamoto (ending song for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles) and I thought it fitted in with the part when Soul confessed his love to Maka. :3 Any thoughts? (By the way, if I find that one of your suggestions is a good idea, I might put the song into the last chapter, but what happens in the last chapter will have to be a surprise~.)

Please spare a minute or two to review~! Thank you~!

* * *

Chapter Eight - The Second Kiss

Soul nudged the lilies at Maka, who was still standing in front of him with the door wide open, dumbstruck and wide-eyed. She almost fell over just from being nudged at by the fragile white lilies.

He seemed quite amused but soon grew impatient. "… Say something, will you?" he urged nervously.

She opened her mouth to say something, but words wouldn't come out of her mouth. "I…"

She cut off her sentence and slowly blinked and nodded.

"Me too, Soul," she said with a smile. "Me too."

* * *

The crescent moon shone over the black pavement, providing the only light besides lamp posts. Soft, almost silent footsteps treaded down the road of rubble. Short breaths huffed white cold fog and the rustling of the trees swayed in rhythm to the footsteps. Hands cringed in pain from the cuts of broken glass.

A heartbroken young man walked down the lonely dark road.

* * *

"So…"

Maka glanced up at Soul who was lovingly staring down at her in a way she'd always dreamt of.

"What now?"

Soul, hearing that, cringed much to Maka's surprise and confusion. He shifted from her and glanced away.

"Um.. I don't know.. What do you want to do?" he asked in a nervous tone.

She thought for a moment then smiled and replied innocently, "Let's do what couples do!"

The couch creaked as he suddenly jumped after hearing that. Soul instantly blushed in a vivid shade of red and unsuccessfully tried to hide it with his hands. She still didn't understand why he'd reacted so strangely.

"Soul?"

"I, um.. I've got to go," he declared and abruptly headed for the door.

"Soul, what's wrong?" she asked concernedly as she got up.

"N-nothing," he assured, not turning to look at her.

"Soul…" She took his arm and tugged at him, causing him to stiffen in nervousness and surprise.

"Tell me, what's wrong?"

He frowned but sighed. "It's just…" He shook his head and cut off his sentence. "Sorry, I've got to go." With that, he shrugged off her hand and left.

* * *

"So that's what's going on?"

Maka sipped her carton of apple juice forcefully and slammed it on the table in frustration.

"Yeah."

Tsubaki sighed and fiddled playfully with her straw.

"That's a step that couples go through, when Black Star and I first started dating, he was like that too..!"

Maka turned to look at her in surprise. "Really?"

Tsubaki smiled. "Yeah, he was really shy and nervous around me at first." She then smiled calmly. "But we got past that stage now."

"How?"

There was a short pause as she tried to come up with words to explain. "Um.." She sipped her strawberry juice and looked up at the clear blue sky. "I guess.. We got used to it."

"…" Maka listened patiently in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"We did what couples do: went to the movies, held hands, occasionally came over to each other's house and -." She abruptly cut off her sentence, causing Maka to frown in confusion.

"And what, Tsubaki-chan?"

"Um…" Tsubaki's face flushed uncontrollably, making Maka even more confused and intrigued. "Well, you know when a couple kiss…?"

".. Yeah?"

"And well, sometimes it goes further than that…"

"….?" Maka tilted her head to a side, still not understanding what she was trying to say.

Tsubaki blushed even more as she tried to come up with a word to indirectly state what she meant. "Um… well, to 'bonding'?"

With that, Maka abruptly got up in shock. "BONDAGE?"

"N-no! NO!" She pulled her back down and sighed. "No, not _bondage_.."

"Then.. What?"

Tsubaki sighed and gave up. "..Sex."

There was a long silence as the dumbstruck Maka suddenly shut up and stared at Tsubaki, who blushed in nervousness.

"WHAT?"

Plates rattled as Maka abruptly got up and slammed her palm onto the table, causing Tsubaki to stiffen in surprise.

"Maka-chan…"

"B-but, sexual intercourse is.. Is.."

"Maka-chan, you've just turned 21, it's normal for a couple to be intimate at this age.." she tried to explain.

Maka blushed furiously and averted her eyes. "B-but…" She exhaled and tried to calm down. "… How do I let him know about that..?"

Tsubaki smiled and let out a small laugh of relief and amusement. "Don't worry, the time will come when that happens, but first of all, try focusing on a date."

"A.. date?"

"Yeah, didn't he ask you out on a date?"

There was a short pause as Maka fell silent and Tsubaki slowly realized that she'd said the wrong thing.

"… No."

* * *

"So you guys are a couple now?"

Soul finished his cocktail and loudly placed the glass onto the counter.

"Yeah."

Black Star grinned and chugged down his pint of beer, leaving a messy trail of bubbles down his mouth.

"So.. Did you guys have sex yet?"

The white-haired model's eyes suddenly shifted from a calm scarlet to a piercing glare, causing Black Star to jerk in surprise and nervousness.

".. I'll take that as a 'no'."

Soul sighed and leaned himself against the counter. "Seriously, does sex mean _everything_ in a couple?"

"Well, if you want your relationship to last and be more intimate _and _awesome, just like mine's, then yeah..!"

The mellow white-haired model rolled his eyes sarcastically. "… I think it's the feelings that counts."

"Typical romanticist."

Soul scoffed and glanced down to look at the floor. His voice then changed to a softer, mellower tone.

"You know.. We haven't even been on a date yet."

"What? Not only did you not have sex, but you haven't even been on a date yet?" Black Star exclaimed in shock as he suddenly stood up.

"Hey, shut up and sit down, will you? There are people here too, y'know..!" Soul whispered angrily in embarrassment as he tugged Black Star's shirt and pulled him back down to his seat.

"Soul, you've got to clear the awkwardness, otherwise this relationship probably won't last..!"

He sighed and put a hand over his head. "Yeah, I guess… I think I'll ask her out on a date for tomorrow." Having said that, he then took out his mobile phone from his pocket and pressed on speed dial.

"Ooh, she's on speed dial too~!" Black Star teased with his usual annoying grin, causing Soul to scoff.

"Hey, Maka?"

"_Soul? What's up?"_

"Um, I was wondering, are you free tomorrow?"

Strangely enough, he could swear that he heard an excited squeal from the other side of the connection, coming from Maka and another girl, who was probably Tsubaki.

"_Y-yeah, sure!"_

".. Great! Uh so, I'll meet you at the Death City fountain around 1?"

"_Fine by me~!"_

"Cool, ok.. Bye."

"_Bye~!"_

Soul flipped his mobile closed and let out a relieved sigh.

"Wow… that was hard.. I was so nervous.." he muttered in slight surprise and disbelief.

"So.." Black Star leaned forward and smirked cheekily. "What are you planning for the date?"

Soul's eyes widened in surprise and horror.

"Oh, _shit_."

* * *

The alarm rang loudly at 6:00a.m sharp, causing Maka to yawn and slam it off. She'd known that the date was yet until 1 o'clock but still, what with all of the panicking and anticipation, 6:00a.m was already too close to the time of the date. She stretched, got up, and headed for the bathroom. "Ok then.. For once, I'm gonna be a proper woman," she declared determinedly.

With that, she tied her hair up into a bun and began the 'cleaning process' which included facial scrub, a one hour rose-scented bath, and a quick shave. "Hm, the pack confirmed that 'this would get a guy's hormones tingling with excitement'," Maka mumbled as she read from the pack label. "Ah well, let's give it a try then."

* * *

"Hey, Kid!" Liz's voice rang through the halls, causing the ridiculously heartbroken young man to slam the door shut and throw a pillow over his head. "Kid!" She opened the door and crossed her arms in fury. "This is really unhealthy for you, y'know! First you go missing for the whole night _and_ miss that important catwalk, and to top it all off, you lock yourself in your room for two whole days without eating a goddamn thing!" But to her annoyance, the stubborn model didn't move and instead clung tighter to his pillow.

There was a short silence as Liz's temper crumbled away.

"Get out from there!" she shouted as she grabbed his legs and forcefully pulled him out from under the covers and snatched his pillow from his hands.

Kid kicked her away from him but sat down on the bed and stared at her with a stern look on his face.

She sighed and rested her arms on her hips. "You know, sitting in this room all day isn't gonna help you, it's not like Maka's gonna come running to your arms or anything."

With that, he suddenly dropped his stone face and abruptly got up and glared at her. "Shut up," he snapped, a still tone in his voice.

"Fine." Liz shrugged and proceeded to walk out of the door, but as she was doing so, she turned around to look at him and sigh. "But.. You should go outside for some fresh air, it might help you feel better.. Just think about it."

Having said that, she left the room and closed the door shut.

Kid sighed and threw the pillow, hitting the mirror, which reflected his sorrowful face.

"I hate it when she's right."

* * *

"Ah, I hope this is alright.." Maka swerved around, causing her dress to lift up and swirl with her. She wore a dark pink silk headband, yellow summer sandals, and a knee-length floral-patterned dress, completely reflecting the bright uplifting colours of summer. With that, she grabbed her purse and left the apartment in a hurry, even though it was only 11a.m.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

The calming splashes from the huge fountain that stood in the centre of Death City Square made Maka smile and feel less self-conscious and worried about herself and everything. She walked over and sat on the edge of the fountain, and waited for Soul.

"Maka?"

She stopped dangling her feet and looked up to see the person who'd called her name.

"Kid-kun?"

Even the voice that had said his name caused him to shiver and stiffen in surprise. Lovesickness was taking over him, turning into an obsession.

"H-hi…!" he managed to stutter. "What a.. coincidence!"

"I know, right?" She smiled and pointed for him to sit down, which he did, next to her. "What are you doing here?"

He stiffened in nervousness and cleared his throat. "Well, uh.." He paused for a moment to think of something to say. "I just came outside for some fresh air, it's unhealthy to stay at home all day."

Maka nodded and smiled. "True."

"So, um.." Kid's voice stuttered, uncomfortable from the awkwardness between them. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah.." Maka's voice trailed off as she abruptly decided not to tell him that she was actually waiting for her date, Soul. "I'm just shopping."

"Cool."

They sat there silently, neither of them knowing what to say.. Until Kid decided to just come clean and say what he wanted to say; and do what he wanted to do.

"Say, Maka-san.."

* * *

"11a.m…" Soul continued to stare at his watch and impatiently wait for the needle to reach 1.

"Tch.." He scoffed and averted his eyes.

"Screw it, I'm getting there early."

* * *

"Yeah?" Maka turned to look at Kid and patiently waited for him to continue.

"You know.. What we were saying the day before.." he managed to stutter, in an almost mute volume.

Her smile dropped but she didn't say anything; she was hoping that _that_ topic wouldn't come up.

"I was telling the truth, you know.."

She still didn't say anything and shifted her eyes to stare down at her legs.

He sighed. "I can't give up on you, seriously."

She glanced at him with confused eyes. "Why's that?"

He smiled, glad that she'd asked. "You're something special."

With that, he leaned forward and placed a soft, light kiss on her lips; one that was almost as light as a cloud. Maka's eyes widened in shock but she stood still, dumbstruck by his sudden act.

".. Maka?"

Kid pulled away and they both turned to look at the direction where the familiar voice was coming from. A tall, white-haired young man stared at them in shock and disbelief.

"S-Soul.." Maka bit her lip in nervousness and worry and immediately got up, ready to explain everything. Kid continued to sit on the edge of the fountain and blankly stared at him, a slight smugness in his eyes.

They stared at each other, none of them uttering a word; the only sound that was heard was the continuous gushing of water coming from the fountain.


	9. The Misunderstanding

Author's note: I'm so sorry about the whole repeated chapter 8 thing and the long update, there was something wrong with fan fiction since my fic didn't appear on the newly updated section so I had to repeat it once or twice. Anyway, I updated chapter 8 so yeah, sorry if you got repeated story alerts. _; Oh and thank you so much for saying that chapter 8 was the best chapter in the story so far, it meant so much to me~! Ok then, on to chapter 9! :D

Extra: Hey so I'm thinking of writing another SoulxMaka fanfic after you guys took the poll and I got 35+ 'yeses' to write another fic. ^_^ I've been inspired to write a fanfic which is loosely based on my own life, which would bring reality and bittersweet emotions into the story. The ending and plot would mostly be based on how friendship, happiness, and love revolve around life (with characters from Soul Eater replacing me and other people) and I'll add a dash of Soul Eater-ness to the story~! :D What do you think? ^^

Reviews are appreciated~! Thank you~!

* * *

Chapter Nine - The Misunderstanding

".. Maka?"

"S-Soul?"

The three of them stared at each other silently, all in shock.

Soul fixed his eyes on both Maka and Kid, slowly piecing together what had just happened, much to his disbelief. Maka bit her lip and wringed her hands in worry and anxiety, scared that she wouldn't be able to reason anything out. Death the Kid sat there silently, continuously glancing at the fountain to admire its perfect symmetry and also turning to look at Soul with a snide, satisfied smirk on his face.

"Uh-oh~…" Kid whispered mockingly, causing Soul to glare at him angrily. He smiled and took out his blue iPod and placed the earplugs into his ears, turning the music on 'shuffle' with the volume on maximum, so loud that he couldn't hear anything they were saying.

"Maka, did I just see what I _thought_ I saw..?" Soul asked, demandingly.

"Soul, listen.." Maka proceeded to step forward and reach out to him, but he backed away instantly and brushed her hand off.

"Just tell me, Maka. Did you two kiss?" he asked begrudgingly, in a serious tone.

"I…" She fell silent, not knowing what to say since they _did_ kiss. "I, I didn't initiate the kiss," she mumbled, in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"But you didn't pull way, did you?" he snapped back. She jerked in surprise and stared at him in surprise and disbelief.

"So you think that I'd actually cheat on you? On our first date?" she implied, in a louder tone.

Soul shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Who knows…"

"What do you take me for?" she snapped, in a slightly infuriated voice.

"Hm..?" Kid glanced up to look at the both of them and crossed his legs casually, seemingly taking enjoyment in the argument. He hadn't realized that Maka had mentioned that she was actually on a date with Soul since the music had blocked his hearing.

"Are you trying to put _me_ in the wrong now?" he accused.

"I'm not!" Maka stepped back and sighed tiredly. "But why can't you believe that I have nothing to do with Kid-kun?"

"Because of what I saw!"

Tap, tap, tap. Kid's legs dangled back and forth, lightly hitting the cold rock fountain walls. He hummed a song, _My First Kiss_, ironic to what was going on.

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Relationships depend on trust, Soul. If you won't believe me on this, then.. I have nothing to say to you." With that, she walked off, brushing past Soul's shoulder, not even glancing to look at him.

".._She won't ever get enough, once she gets a little touch, if I had it my way, you know that I'd make her say_~!" Kid smiled callously at Soul and got up, casually pulling out his earplugs and resting his arm on his hip. "Come on, Soul..! Finish the song, won't you?" he insisted teasingly.

Soul turned to glare furiously at the troublemaker and proceeded to stomp towards him and instantly push him forcefully into the fountain, but not before being pulled into the fountain himself.

Swoosh!

They burst out from underneath the water and gasped for air, brushing the hair off their faces.

"What the hell?" Kid remarked angrily.

"That's what you get for kissing Maka!" Soul shot back.

"Huh, you're speaking as if she's your beloved item! From what I saw, I don't think she thinks of you in the same way!" he remarked.

"Shut up!" With that, Soul pushed him back down into the water and got up. He then wringed his clothes and climbed out, soaked and all.

Kid sat up and watched him walk away; he took quite a bit of pleasure in watching Soul's frustration.

"I told you, I'm not letting this love go."

* * *

The door slammed open and Maka dropped herself onto the couch, landing in the pile of cushions.

She sighed in frustration and sunk her head deep into a cushion.

"I.. I didn't want this to happen."

She turned herself over and rested a hand over her forehead.

"Stupid drama queen."

* * *

"Hey Soul, that's like, your seventeenth shot of vodka!" Black Star remarked in surprise and wonder as he frowned and sat next to him. "Is something bothering you?"

Soul cleared his throat and drank down another glass of alcohol. "I saw Kid and Maka kiss today.." he explained in a slurred tone.

"Say what?" Black Star leaned forward and poked him on the shoulder. "Tell me more!"

"So Maka and I had an argument, and I think we kind of broke up.."

"Huh? Broke up? You can't be serious!"

"The girl kissed someone else! What do you think I'd do, stand there and watch?" he sarcastically implied.

"Yeah, but it's Kid! That guy's obsessed with Maka, and besides, you know how twisted that guy can get, he was your roommate in university, after all!"

Soul fell silent and slouched onto the counter. "It's not like anything can be fixed now anyway…" he mumbled drunkenly.

"And they call _me_ an idiot…" Black Star mumbled with a sigh.

Soul leaned back and exhaled slowly. He glanced up at the ceiling with thoughts rushing through his head all at once. "Well, she _did_ say that Kid initiated the kiss but still…" He sighed. "Maybe it was a forced kiss, after all, that guy is really twisted… Huh.. And I blamed it all on Maka.." With that, his mind suddenly went blank and he fell back, collapsing onto the floor.

* * *

The rumbling of a phone vibrating was heard in the living room and a loud bass beat echoed as the ring tone came on.

_Stop calling, stop__ calling, I don't wanna think anymore~ I left my head and my heart on the dance floor~._

Maka quickly grabbed her cell phone and accepted the call without thinking; it occurred to her that she should really change her ring tone.

"Soul?" she instantly asked.

"_No, unfortunately, it's me, Kid."_

Her smile dropped and she shifted her position to a more posed and serious stance. ".. Yeah?"

"_Listen.. About today.. I'm sorry."_

"Yeah, you should be," she instantly scoffed sternly.

A sigh was heard from the other line._ "I was acting out of order.."_

"Uh-huh, you sure were."

"_It's just.. I really like you, you know that?"_

"Yeah well, that doesn't give you the right to kiss me, does it?"

"_I guess…"_

Maka sighed and placed the phone closer to her ear. "Don't worry about it," she reassured softly. "Just don't do it again."

"_I'll try." _There was a long pause as neither of them spoke. _"But.. Why was Soul so upset about it? I mean, it's not as if he's your boyfriend, right?"_

Maka fell silent and bit her lip. "Yeah.. About that.."

Knock, knock.

Maka turned to look at the door and pull the phone away from her ear.

"Ah, Kid-kun, I'll have to get back to you later, ok?"

"_Huh? Oh, ok.. Bye."_

She ended the call and placed the phone onto the table, then headed over to the door and opened it. To her surprise, in front of her stood a rather tired Black Star with a sleeping, drunken Soul with his arm around his shoulder.

"B-Black Star?" She continued to stare at Soul in surprise and confusion, shocked by the state he was in. "W-what happened?"

"Eighteen shots of vodka's what happened," he explained with an exhausted sigh. "Anyway, I don't know where Soul lives and my place is well, unavailable for this night since.. You know.."

"Oh my god, do you do it _every_ night..?"

Black Star laughed sheepishly and grinned. "Heh, I might actually be too tired today," he remarked. "But yeah, if you don't mind, can Soul stay over at yours for the night? Thanks!" With that, he dropped the drunken young man onto her shoulder and skipped off before she could even say anything.

Maka sighed and closed the door shut. "What a burden…" she mumbled as she gently placed him onto the couch and spread a blanket over his body. A smile slowly formed on the edge of her mouth as she leaned forward and ran a finger through his snowy white hair.

"M.. Maka…." the drunken Soul muttered in a slurred voice as he twitched and fell back to sleep.

She sighed and stroked his forehead. "Heh, I guess I can't bring myself to be mad at you after seeing that face.." she whispered with a smile.

"Maka-chan~…" Soul's hand suddenly took hold of her arm, causing her to flinch in surprise.

"H-huh?" She stared at him for a minute then leaned forward. "Eh…? Are you really drunk, Soul?" she inquired in suspicion.

"Zzz…." Too late to ask; he was already fast asleep.

She sighed and giggled slightly in amusement. "Silly Soul…"

She then shifted herself to sit on the couch and gently rest his head on her lap. The next thing she knew, she was fast asleep with him.

* * *

"Mm…" Soul mumbled and yawned. He then stretched and sat up, but fell back again. He was experiencing a horrible hangover.

"Ugh…" He placed his arm on his forehead and groaned. But what surprised him was the sudden movement of something else.

"Nnn…" Maka fluttered her eyes open and slowly glanced around, trying to remember what had happened. She then looked down to see Soul looking up at her on her lap and she widened her eyes in slight surprise.

Soul blinked and continued to gaze at her. He opened his mouth to say something but no sound came out. Only a soft, almost mute whisper was heard.

"Maka..?"

"Soul?"

He paused, not knowing what to say. "… Hi?"

"…. Hi."

* * *

"Pancakes?"

"Sure, thanks!"

Sizzles coming from the frying pan were heard even in the kitchen. Soul got up and walked over to the kitchen and popped his head inside, curious and wanting to see Maka. There was something that was stuck on his mind and he was desperate to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. But he couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Say, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"…"

There was a long pause as Soul bit his lip in frustration since he couldn't bring himself to ask her the question.

"… Soul?" she urged.

"Ah, don't rush me!" he shouted angrily. He sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, it's just hard to say…"

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to…"

"Whatever, I'm just gonna be straight. Maka, are we still dating?"

There was a short pause as Maka stopped flipping the pancakes and turned to stare at Soul in surprise and confusion.

"What are you talking about? Are you saying that we're not dating?" she inquired.

"Huh, what? N-no! I-I don't know!"

"Well, do you want me to be your girlfriend?"

".. Y-yeah! D-do you want _you_ to be my girlfriend?"

"Grammatical error there, but I'm just gonna ignore it. And yeah, I do," she replied plainly.

Soul sighed and smiled; yup, this was definitely Maka, the smartass, the apathetic one, the girl he loved.

"… Cool."

"…."

Maka went back to making pancakes with Soul continuing to stand there and watch her silently, both of them blushing a vivid shade of red.

But Soul decided to break the silence since he still had more to say and ask. He cleared his throat and shifted his position to a more comfortable stance.

"Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we try that date again?"

".. Sure!"

He smiled contentedly. "So um, want to watch a movie or something?"

She nodded and smiled back. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Cool." He laughed nervously and blushed even more.

"You know, we should make sure not to run into Kid again," she suggested jokingly.

"Yeah." Although irritated by that thought, Soul shrugged it off and grinned.

"Let's make this a perfect date."

* * *

Their relationship's been fixed and the next 'first date' can't go wrong! But what does Soul mean by 'a perfect date'? Is he planning on taking their relationship to the next level? Next chapter will be finished and posted soon~! ^^


	10. The Summer Roses

Author's Note: I'm gonna try and make this chapter extra sweet and romantic for you guys since the next update will probably be in 3-4 weeks. ^^; I'm heading on vacation, you see, and I don't think I'll be writing any fanfics during that time. XD I'll be busy hunting for my 'summer rose'~! (A parody of this chapter xD) But please continue reading and reviewing it and I'll try to update as soon as possible! If you like this story, then please review it~!

By the way, in this chapter, Soul and Maka go on a date to the cinema so I decided to just put _Eclipse_ as the movie, not because I'm a fan of the Twilight saga, but just because it just came out and my friends and I watched it and the movie also features a song by my favourite band, _Muse_. xD And I decided not to mention Kid at all in this chapter since I've noticed that most of you guys want a break from getting pissed off by our obsessive character. :3 Enjoy~!

* * *

Chapter Ten - The Summer Roses

Maka fluttered her eyes open and abruptly got up in a flash. This was going to be the perfect 'first date' and nothing was going to spoil it. Not a thing.

She'd already planned everything in her head whilst talking to Soul the other day and she'd already picked out an outfit and make-up. "Ok.. Let's see now…" She opened the wardrobe doors and searched through the neatly folded clothes, looking for the red and white summer dress that she'd picked out especially for the date. She was sure that she'd kept it neatly folded on the third layer, but it was nowhere to be seen, which freaked her out. "W-what? Where is it..?" she mumbled frantically as she immediately threw out the pile of clothes and worriedly searched for her dress. "Oh my god, oh my god, where is it?" Sweat dripped from her forehead as her eyes widened in panic. To her, this was the worst case scenario.

"D-did I forget to put it in the wardrobe? But then, where could it be?" she muttered to herself as she glanced around frantically. Her hair was all messed up as if she'd been shocked from electricity and she was still in her crinkly white pyjamas, which were still unbuttoned. "Can this get any worse?"

Knock, knock.

Maka swerved around in surprise and groaned in frustration. "Urgh, who is it? Now is _not_ the right time to bother me…" she mumbled angrily as she stomped over to the door and forcefully opened it. To her surprise, in front of her stood her date, holding a bouquet of fresh orange roses and smartly dressed in a white collared shirt, his trademark black jacket, and jeans. Well, not exactly 'smartly' dressed, but pretty neat for someone like Soul.

"S-Soul..!" Maka made a half-frown, half-smile, which made her look like a frantic young woman who'd just gotten out of bed.. Which was true.

Soul stared at her silently for a moment, quietly examining her messed up hair and creased pyjamas. But something about her made him blush and jerk in surprise; her unbuttoned shirt.

"M-Maka! Your shirt!" he exclaimed as he backed away nervously.

"Huh?" She glanced down to look at her shirt and shouted in shock and surprise. "Ah!" She immediately covered up her shirt and ran back into her room, embarrassed and ashamed.

Soul cleared his throat anxiously and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He gently lay the bouquet on the table and headed into Maka's room to check if she was ok. The door creaked open and Soul slowly poked his head inside.

"You alright?"

Maka turned around, sobbing; her eyes filled with tears.

"You think…?" she sarcastically implied in frustration.

He sighed, but sat down next to her on the bed and lightly patted her on the head as if she was a little child. She grumbled yet sat still and let him continue to touch her. He smiled warmly and pulled her close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She immediately blushed but slowly closed her eyes and calmly smiled. No words had to be spoken; they were spending a sweet silent moment together, picture perfect. He was the boyfriend that she'd always wished for.

"Soul…" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

She lifted her head up to look at him and smile.

"Thank you."

He smiled back and playfully pinched her cheek.

"It's cool." His smile then turned into an energetic grin. "Wanna watch a movie now? 'Cause, um.. It's gonna start in half an hour."

She laughed and lightly pushed his hand away. "Yeah, let's." With that, she got up and strutted outside, but was stopped by Soul.

"Uh, Maka.." His voice trailed off as he pointed at her and laughed hesitantly. "You're still in your pyjamas."

"Urk!" She swerved around and blushed in embarrassment. "R-right!"

* * *

"Hey Maka, do you want to watch _Eclipse_? It just came out, didn't it?" Soul suggested as he ruffled through the movie leaflet.

"Hm, I'm ok with that," Maka replied as she glanced around the cinema, observing the many oversized posters. "Are you into romance, Soul?"

Soul flinched in surprise and nervously cleared his throat. "Well, it contains action and vampire stuff, right? I guess it'll be pretty fun…"

She smiled and giggled in amusement. "Sure, sure. Let's get the tickets then."

"I'll get them," he volunteered and instantly headed over to the queue. "Two tickets for _Eclipse_, please."

"Hey Soul, I can pay for my own ticket, y'know," Maka protested as she walked over to him.

"No way, let me be the gentleman for once, won't you?" he insisted and handed her a ticket.

She blushed and sighed. "Thanks."

They handed their tickets to the staff and walked over to the snacks and beverage stall.

"Popcorn?" he suggested.

"Um, ok," she replied shyly.

He smiled and bought a tub of popcorn, then pointed over to the movie entrance.

"Come on, don't wanna be late for the movie."

* * *

_Our love will be forever,_

_And if we die, we die together._

The song, _Neutron Star Collision_ echoed in the background of the movie, making Soul tap his fingers to the beat. He then stopped and reached to grab a handful of popcorn, but instead, he ended up accidentally taking hold of Maka's hand, which was also reaching for the popcorn.

The classic hand-takes-hand-instead-of-popcorn scenario.

They instantly turned around to look at each other and blush uncontrollably. Soul pulled away first, his cheeks a bright flustered shade of embarrassed scarlet. Maka stuttered nervously as she averted her eyes, unsuccessfully trying to hide her flushed face.

"Er, sorry…" he apologized nervously.

"Don't mind it…" she instantly replied in an almost mute voice.

They then continued to watch the movie, neither of them daring to glance at each other.

It was a typical start to a first date.

* * *

"Well, that was a rather fun movie, wasn't it?" Maka remarked as they walked out of the cinema, trying to clear the awkwardness.

"Huh? Y-yeah, I guess.." Soul replied, in a tense tone.

She sighed. "Hey, we kissed before, touching hands shouldn't be weird, right?" she implied.

He turned to look at her and nodded. "Yeah…" Having said that, he smiled and gently took hold of her hand, causing her to smile back and blush slightly.

"So…" His smile turned into a grin as he gradually gained his confidence back.

"How about a smoothie?"

Her smile widened as she nodded and held his hand tighter.

"Yeah, a smoothie sounds good to me."

* * *

Maka sipped her strawberry smoothie and continuously glanced up to look at Soul, who was lazily slurping his passion fruit smoothie. His expression seemed as if his mind was adrift, which amused her.

"Soul, what are you thinking?" she asked curiously.

"Hm?" He stopped daydreaming and flickered his eyes. "What? Oh, nothing."

"Come on, tell me!" she insisted playfully as she reached forward to lightly touch his arm, causing him to blush and flinch. She smiled; she'd discovered the technique of flirting, and was seemingly enjoying it. But Soul, being the perfectly natural guy, seemed to be quite nervous.

"Um, I'm thinking…" His voice trailed off as he cut off his sentence.

"What? What are you thinking?" she urged childishly.

He blushed and hunched his shoulders. "… Do you wanna head back to my place later?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and she instantly moved back to sit straight in her chair. "Um…" She couldn't help but smile and blush. "Sure.. But what do you wanna do there?"

The chair creaked abruptly as he suddenly fell aback, shocked from hearing her ask such a question innocently.

"W-watch a movie?" he suggested.

".. Didn't we just do that?" she implied.

"We'll watch a different movie!" he instantly corrected.

"Heh.." She giggled in amusement yet shook her head. "Why not come over to my place instead?"

"H-huh?" he stuttered in surprise.

"Come!" She smiled, got up, and extended her hand towards him. "It'll be fun~!"

He stared at her hesitantly for a moment but soon nodded and reluctantly took her hand.

"… Alright."

* * *

"Ah, I forgot about the roses!" Maka exclaimed as she opened the door and ran over to fetch the bouquet and take it into the kitchen. "Say, Soul?" she called out as she gently drizzled the fragile roses with cold water from the tap. "Orange roses aren't exactly popular flowers that are given to a girlfriend, right? How come you got these for me?"

Soul unzipped his jacket and swung it over a chair, then turned to look at Maka from the living room. "Well, I thought.. Red roses don't suit for a perfect date since they're too passionate and white roses are too pure."

"So our love isn't pure?" she implied curiously.

He felt a bit nervous, having heard her say 'our love', but he quickly shook it off. "No, I don't think so." He leaned his arm on the chair and continued to stare at her.

"I think.. Our love is.. Like summer. And orange roses are summery, so I got those for you.."

"Summer?" She popped her head out from the kitchen to look at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

He smiled, his eyes shifting to a calmer, mellower shade of maroon.

"Summer is a season of peppiness and smiles, right? I think that's what our love is like."

"… I'm listening."

"Well, imagine warm breezes, a sun-lit beach, and riding bicycles down the sandy shore.. Doesn't it bring a smile to your face? That's what summer is like, and I think it's a mirror image of our relationship. Innocently sweet."

A summer breeze gusted through the open window, causing Soul and Maka's hair to sweep past their faces. She stood in front of him wordlessly, her eyes fixed on him as an intimate gaze. She was hypnotised, spellbound from his sweet, poetic words. He was definitely the boyfriend of her dreams. Silently, she leaned forward and placed a light, soft kiss on his warm lips.

There was no possibility of her loving him any more than she did at that moment.

"Maka…"

His eyes fluttered open to gaze at her in wonder.

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "It's so funny and strange, even I'm confused by it.. I don't get it, I've never loved and longed for a person this much. Your words.. They're like invisible strings tying me together, it's as if I'm falling into a trap. And I'm not even trying to escape."

His eyes continued to gaze at her, but they changed to a passionate stare. They were both trapped in a cage, a cage that was built by them. A cage made of love and love alone.

"Why try to escape?" He swung an arm over her shoulder and took hold of her hand that was touching his hair. "We've become so trapped that there's no escaping now anyway." With that, he leaned forward and kissed her, his tepid tongue invading hers. There was no dirtiness or impurity in that kiss; there was only passion and desire.

"You know…" She panted breathlessly as her face turned pink from heat. "I've never let myself love anyone any more than I love you. It's because I'm afraid.. Afraid that I'll be let down, like what my father did to me. But.. You're the only exception."

He gently cupped her chin in his palm and pulled her close to his face so she could look at him clearly when he said, "I'll never let you down."

She smiled and held onto his hand that was cupping her chin. If only time could stop for eternity, for just this moment.

"You're my summer girl."

She grinned childishly and snuggled in his chest.

"And you're.. my summer rose."

He lightly pushed her back so he could see her face.

"Summer rose?" he repeated curiously.

"Yeah~!" She nodded and beamed innocently. "What~? Come on, 'summer boy' sounds too childlike for you and seriously, 'summer prince'? Isn't that too elegant?"

He stared at her silently for a moment and frowned sarcastically. ".. Summer rose?" he repeated again.

She sighed and pouted. "Ok, ok, it's a _tad_ corny, but then again.."

Her grin appeared again as she brought his face close to hers, close enough that their noses were touching.

"You're _my_ summer rose."


	11. The Love Tutorial

Author's Note: I made sure to write every once in a while during the vacation so I won't waste so much time writing and thinking up ideas for the next chapter since this chapter won't be uploaded until I come back from the summer holiday. ^^ Hope you all had a great holiday and I hope that this chapter will be worth waiting for~!

(Oh, by the way, I actually _did_ find my 'summer rose' xD. I think I'm gonna write that experience into a short story, but since this website is for fanfics only, I guess I'll have to look for another website. FictionPress, maybe? Or should I add it as an extra chapter in this story? But I guess you readers are more interested in the fanfic. xD)

Oh and guess what, for all of you readers out there who love my Soul Eater fanfics and of course, love Soul Eater, I cosplayed as Chrona for an upcoming anime expo in October (also joined along with a Soul Eater cosplay group)~! And I've finished sewing up the outfit, and got the wig and everything else too! *happiness* Anyway, there are pictures on DeviantART and Facebook, if you want to see. XD Although the wig isn't styled yet. = = (Note: There are other cosplays too, like Death Note and Lolita :3). Ok, I'll leave you alone to reading now, sorry for the long author's note. = =;

Reviews please~! They are appreciated~! ^^

* * *

Chapter Eleven - The Love Tutorial

"Huh…" Soul sighed as he flipped through the pages of a magazine.

"What's up, Soul?" Maka asked concernedly.

"Well, I've got this photo shoot at the beach during the weekend and they're providing everything for me and another person that I'm gonna bring.."

She frowned and leaned forward to stare at him. "And the problem is…?"

"I don't know who to bring with me…" he mumbled with another sigh.

She continued to stare at him for a moment and raised her eyebrows. "What, isn't Black Star free during the weekend or something?" she implied.

"Maka..!" he exclaimed in a disappointed voice. "Can you at least play along with me? Of course I'm gonna bring _you_ with me!"

"Oh.." She nodded and shrugged. "You could've just said so…"

"You're so blunt.." he mumbled and frowned. "But I guess that's just another reason why I'm so crazy in love with you."

"…" She stared at him wordlessly for a moment, making him think that she was captivated by his romantic words. "You know…" she muttered. "That sweet talk isn't gonna get you in my pants."

He jerked up in surprise and blushed uncontrollably. "D-don't joke like that!" he spluttered nervously.

"Eh? I thought you liked my bluntness," she implied dryly.

"Yeah well, when you put it _that_ way, I think I'm beginning to hate it…" he mumbled in a frustrated tone.

She smirked in self-satisfaction and poked him lightly on the shoulder. "So, since I'm not your photographer this time, who is it?" she asked out of curiosity.

He furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought and tried to remember the name of his photographer. "Erm… I think her name was.. Chrona.. Makenshi.." Suddenly, he abruptly got up and clapped his hands together. "That's right! Chrona Makenshi!" he exclaimed in a satisfied and relieved tone.

Maka frowned and rolled her eyes. "No need to overreact.." Her eyes then widened and she turned to stare at him in surprise. "Wait, did you say Chrona Makenshi?"

"Hm?" He sat back down and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"She was my friend in high school, from what I remember," she explained. "A very shy, quiet person. Very cute."

"Eh…?" Soul scowled and stared at her with confused eyes. "You just said she's cute."

She frowned. "Yeah, and..?"

"How come you never give me any compliments?" he whined childishly. "You never called me cute before…"

She raised an eyebrow and smiled devilishly. "Okay, okay." She then raised her hand and patted him lightly on the head. "You're _cute_. Happy now?"

To her surprise and confusion, he grimaced and pushed her hand away. "Can you stop being so sarcastic and dry..?" he snapped angrily. "Why can't you be like a _proper_ girlfriend?" With that, he stomped out of the apartment leaving a dumbstruck Maka sitting on the couch, still confused.

"What just happened?"

* * *

"_Hi, it's Tsubaki, I'm not here at the moment, please leave a message_."

Maka sighed and hung up on her cell phone. "Just when I need her.." she mumbled in frustration. She paused for a minute, then decided to dial another number.

"_Hey there~! It's the one and only amazing Black Star!.. Who's speaking?"_

"Black Star? It's Maka."

"_Hey, Maka! What's up?"_

"Soul's mad at me.. Again."

"_Wha-? Again? That guy sure is such a little kid.."_

"Yeah well, I was wondering if you could help me.. See, he's angry at me because apparently, I'm too sarcastic and dry.. Do you think so?"

"_Erm… I guess so, at times.."_

"Huh? Really..? Hm.. Yeah, maybe I am.." She sighed. "So, what should I do?"

"_Eh…? So I'm the consultant, am I now?"_

"Oh, come on.. Tsubaki wouldn't pick up so I had to call you…"

"_Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight: you wanted to get advice from Tsubaki, but since she wasn't available, I'm your second choice? Dude, I'm no-one's second choice! I'm Black Star, for god's sake!"_

"Black Star…"

"_Hey, don't 'Black Star' me! I'm in a bad mood now, besides, you shouldn't take advice from me anyway! My advice is too good for you!"_ With that, he abruptly hung up.

Maka sighed and lowered her cell phone from her ear. She'd already known all along that Black Star wouldn't prove to be of much help.

She slowly sat down and thought through her love-hate relationship with Soul and sighed. "It seems like.. Our relationship consists of more arguments than dates.." she mumbled gloomily.

"Hmm.."

* * *

Soul groaned in frustration and jumped face-first onto the bed. "I guess I'm going to the photo shoot alone then…"

* * *

"Let's see now…" Maka scrolled her finger down the stack of books and carefully searched through the sections. "I wonder if they have any books related to relationships… after all, I've only got until the weekend to make amends with Soul.."

"Eh? Maka-san?" She turned around in surprise to see Kid staring at her behind a bookshelf.

"Kid-kun? Hey~!" she greeted and waved. "Looking for something to read?"

He nodded and walked over to her. "I was actually looking for a book related to the origin of symmetry," he explained. "What about you?"

"Me?" She glanced at the bookshelf that she was recently scrolling through and looked back at Kid. "I was just, you know, looking for something interesting to read." She paused. "Though if you're looking for something like the origin of symmetry, there's an album with that title, the music's pretty awesome too."

"Thanks." He grinned and stood casually. "Hey, are you free this weekend? I've got this photo shoot down at the beach and I was wondering if you'd like to come," he asked breezily.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she felt a light breeze brush past them. "Beach..?" she asked nervously, fearing the worst. "Do you happen to know who the photographer is?"

"The photographer? Yeah, I think her name is Chrona Makenshi. Why'd you ask?"

Her jaw dropped and the breeze that swept past her suddenly felt like an ice-cold snowstorm. This was definitely the worst case scenario that she'd had in mind and it was actually happening. "Hell no!" she wanted to scream.

"I don't know, I might be busy during the weekend," she denied nervously.

His smile dropped as he sighed sulkily. "Oh, ok then…" he mumbled.

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him sulk silently. "I'm so sorry.." she whispered guiltily. She loved Soul, not him, but it killed her to watch him have his heart broken. After all, in the end, he was still her friend.

He glanced up to look at her and forced on a reassuring smile. "It's alright.."

Maka smiled grimly. It seemed like everything was going wrong that day; she felt like she was drowning in a sea of broken hearts.

* * *

"Chapter one.. A man's emotions…" Maka flipped through her chosen book of love advice and carefully read through it. "Mmhm.. What, that serious?.. Oh, I get it now…" She grinned confidently. "So _that's_ what I have to do, huh?"

"Hm?" Soul turned around and noticed his cell phone vibrating. He picked it up and read the name: 'Maka'. "…" After a short pause, he reluctantly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Soul-chan~! Listen, I'm sorry about this morning, can I come with you to the photo shoot, please~?" _Maka's strangely cute voice echoed through his speaker.

"Soul-chan?" he thought in confusion. And what was with the girly voice?

"Um.. Hey, if this is your way of apologizing, then it's alright.."

"_Eh? But I wanna come with you, Soul~! You don't want me to come?" _she whined childishly.

"…" He kept quiet, suspicious about her sudden strange behaviour. "… Sure, alright then."

"…" There was sudden silence coming from Maka's phone but as he listened closely in concern, he could swear he heard sounds of shuffling pages, as if she was searching through a book and he heard a soft frustrated whisper saying 'Damn it, what am I supposed to do next?'.

"Maka.. Are you ok?" he asked concernedly.

"_H-huh? Yeah, 'course I am~! Because of you, I am a-ok~!"_

Soul frowned in confusion; there was definitely something going on, especially with the corny phrases.

"So.. I'll pick you up, Friday morning?"

"_Sure~! I'll be waiting~! Who knows, this weekend trip might take our relationship to a whole new level~!" _With that, she abruptly hung up, leaving a dumbstruck Soul still holding onto the other side of the line.

"…" He continued to stand there, speechless. What did she mean by 'taking the relationship to a whole new level'? Or did she actually mean..?

Soul's phone suddenly vibrated again and he immediately picked it up.

"_Hi, Soul~! I forgot to say.."_ There was a short silence as Soul sensed nervousness in her voice. "_I forgot to say.. I love you~!"_ She immediately hung up after having said that, leaving him even more dumbstruck.

"What… the heck?" But even though he was confused by her behaviour, the truth was, he felt happy about it.

* * *

Friday morning came by like a heartbeat.

"Ok, let's see.. A cute outfit that shows innocence yet also maturity…" Maka ruffled through her wardrobe, desperately looking for an outfit that expressed those words. "Found it," she stated with a confident grin.

A neat white collared shirt matched with a red and black striped tie and a blue and black checker-patterned miniskirt, followed along with brown boots. "There we go~!" she stated with a confident grin. But her confidence soon was cut short as she faced facts and realized that this wasn't her and she wasn't confident; she was freaking out and nervous. "'We might take our relationship to a whole new level', huh? What the hell was I thinking…" She glanced over at her 'love manual' and read out the instruction 'if you're ready, then you might as well suggest taking the relationship to a whole new level, and that means intimacy~!'. "But I'm not ready…" she mumbled in frustration and blushed furiously. "I'm not ready…"

"Maka, you there?"

She swerved around in surprise and blushed even redder. "Darn it…"

"I-it's open~!" she called out anxiously. The door clicked open and in stepped Soul, in a plain white buttoned shirt and knee-length black shorts; casual beach attire.

"Maka, it's not safe to leave the door unlocked, you know.."

She laughed nervously and zipped up her boots. "Um, I left it unlocked 'cause I knew you were coming but ok, I'll keep it locked next time."

"Understand that I'm just worried about your wellbeing, ok?" he stated concernedly.

"Yeah, I know.." she mumbled and smiled warmly. "Thanks." She then remembered something and clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, I almost forgot! Soul, come over to my room, I've got something to show you~!"

He stepped forward reluctantly but shrugged it off and walked into her room.

"Take a look! I just bought it yesterday, thought I'd wear it to the beach with you~!" she declared enthusiastically and pulled out a sky blue bikini, painted with white daisies. "Isn't it cute~?"

"Err.." Soul's voice trailed off as he unconsciously imagined her wearing the bikini, causing him to blush in embarrassment. "Um.. Yeah, it'll probably look good on you.." he complimented nervously.

She grinned and packed the bikini back into her backpack. "Let's go then~!"

* * *

Soul still wondered about Maka's abnormal cheerfulness as they walked down the sandy shore.

"Maka.. You seem to be really energetic lately.." he stated gruffly.

"Do I?" she asked innocently. "Hm.. Maybe it's because I'm not so sarcastic and dry anymore?"

"Oh no.. don't tell me you're acting this way because of _that_…"

She turned to look at him in surprise and regret of saying that. "N-no! Don't take it the wrong way! I love being this way, you like it too, right?"

"…" He continued to walk alongside her quietly, with a deep look on his face.

She bit her lip nervously; he wasn't going to take it the wrong way, was he?

"You know.. I'm touched, that you showed such concern for me.." he stated modestly in a soft voice. "I was wrong, about you being dry and sarcastic."

She smiled in relief and happiness. How perfect everything was going. No more sea of broken hearts.

And that was when she decided.

She was ready.

"Hey Soul, let's head back to the hotel," she suggested as she tugged at his arm and pointed towards the hotel.

"Huh? But we only just took a short walk.." he pointed out.

"Come on, Soul. I, I want to.. Take our relationship to.." She blushed nervously as her voice trailed off; no way was she ever going to make it through this, it wasn't her style, after all.

Soul blushed, thinking of the many things she could've meant by just that short, uncompleted statement. ".. To?" he urged.

"I.." She paused and gulped, swallowing all of her anxiety and embarrassment. "Soul, I want to -."

"Maka-san?"

Both of them immediately turned to look at the person who'd just interrupted them, dreading the worst. And indeed, the worst had come.

"K-Kid-kun..!" she stuttered in surprise. "Damn it, damn it, damn it.." she thought in confusion and bit her lip.

"Oh.. So when you said you were busy, you meant with Soul, right?" Her eyes widened in shock as she sensed that there wasn't the usual arrogance and cockiness in Kid's voice, instead, there seemed to be dejection and sadness, as if he'd finally decided to give up on pursuing her.

As if he'd realized he'd been rejected.

"Kid-kun.." She reached out her hand to him but was interrupted by another voice.

"M-Maka…! R-remember me?"

They turned around to see a pink-haired young woman with a Polaroid camera hung around her neck, who was standing unconfidently and was nervously staring at the floor, as if she was too scared to look them in the eye.

"Chrona-chan~!" Maka stepped forward and swung her arms around her, giving her a tight hug. "Of course, I remember you~!"

"Oh.. T-that's wonderful.." she muttered with a slight smile. "I'm doing a photo shoot here, w-would you like to come with me and meet the models?"

"Ah, that's alright. I already know them, Soul and Kid, right? They're right here." With that, she gestured at the two models, who stood there awkwardly.

"H-huh? Really? I.. I haven't met them yet so I didn't know what they looked like.. I- I'm so embarrassed, I don't know how to deal with this now…" she mumbled and blushed self-consciously.

"Don't mind it," Maka reassured breezily and grinned. "Come, let's go to the studio, I'd like to take a look." She grabbed her hand and walked off past Soul and Kid who reluctantly followed right behind them out of confusion.

But as they continued to walk, Chrona sensed something about the person walking behind her and abruptly stopped to turn around and look him in the eye, showing no signs of self-consciousness whatsoever.

"Are you heartbroken?"


	12. The Pink Seashell

Author's Note: The summer break is over now (no~ ;w;) so updates will be pretty long since this is the year that will be flooded with coursework, exams and well, more exams. XD I wish you all have fun in your studies (who am I kidding, how can you have fun in _that_? = =) and hey, if class gets boring, just read a fanfic or two. X3 (Oh dear, bad influence..)

Another thing, I've decided to add a few extra chapters once this story comes to an end, you know, just as an author's gift to the readers. X3 Extra chapters will be about how the story continues or how one of the characters fell in love with the other and I'm also going to include the short story of my summer rose. (Sorry if it's a hassle to you, there's no need to read it if you're not interested XD). I just thought that readers connecting with the author is an important detail. ^^ By the way, what do you guys think about _yaoi_? ;D 'Cause I'm currently trying to write a Black StarxKid fanfic. It's my first try at it too. X3

* * *

Chapter Twelve - The Pink Seashell

"Excuse me?" Kid immediately looked up to glare at Chrona in an angered yet astounded way.

"I-I'm sorry, that came out wrong.." Chrona bowed her head down in apology and grimaced in shame. "That was rude of me.."

He frowned but shrugged it off, feeling more intrigued about what she meant by that question. What was she, some sort of fortune teller? "Never mind that.." he stated flatly. "But just what did you mean by 'are you heartbroken'?"

Maka and Soul continued to stare at them wordlessly, sensing that the atmosphere was getting pretty awkward for them.

"Ah.. Chrona-chan, why don't you go and take a walk with Kid-kun and sort this thing out? Soul and I already had something planned anyway so you can show me the studio later, ok?" Maka suggested breezily.

"H-huh?" Chrona turned to look at Maka, then turned to look at Kid, and looked back at Maka again. "Um…" She glanced at Kid for him to make the decision by himself.

Kid sighed in annoyance and turned to look at Soul and Maka, who were fidgeting and continuously glancing at each other, making him even more annoyed. "Fine, we'll just take a stroll down the beach and see you guys later.." he half-heartedly replied.

"Ok, cool! See you then!" With that, Maka grabbed Soul by the arm and ran off into the hotel excitedly.

"Ah, um.." Kid turned to look at Chrona, who was stuttering nervously.

"What?" he asked demandingly.

".. Y-you don't have to walk with me if you don't want to…"

"I know that," he scoffed. "I'm just interested in what you said earlier, that's all."

"Oh.." She nodded and gestured for them to walk down the sandy shore, to which he reluctantly agreed to.

"So, care to tell me what you meant earlier?" Kid kicked the sand out of his shoes in annoyance and frowned bitterly.

"You bear the face of a heartbroken man," Chrona plainly replied.

"…" He stared at her quietly before opening his mouth to say, "What do you mean?"

"I.. I know these things."

"How?"

She turned to gaze at the sea for a minute then abruptly sat down.

"When you've also had your heart broken before, you'd be able to tell these things from a simple expression."

He frowned but sat down next to her, intrigued to hear more.

"What do you mean?" he asked again.

"I…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes closed and fluttered open. "I had a boyfriend during my college years, he was a very nice person, kind and caring. But then one day, he confessed to me saying that he'd also been dating someone else.. And he chose her over me."

"…" Kid wanted to ask how that was related to him but felt that it was rude of him to say so.

"But you don't care about that, do you?" She turned to look at him suddenly, causing him to jerk back in surprise.

"I.." He didn't really know what to say.

She smiled sadly and cupped a handful of sand. "Since then.. I've become this unconfident, nervous girl.. Bearing this saddened, heartbroken expression on my face." She then looked up to stare at his face. "The same expression you have on yours."

He stared at her in surprise and confusion. "Heartbroken?"

"You love Maka, don't you?"

He blushed in shock and embarrassment and immediately looked away. "H-how do you know that..?"

She giggled, a surprising sight compared to the fact that she was such a gloomy person. "When you put it that way, it just seems so obvious~!" she stated.

"Huh…" He half-frowned, half-smiled, for once, not knowing how to deal with the situation.

"Oh, look..!" Chrona gestured to a seashell in front of her; a bright pink seashell, different from the others.

"A pink seashell, huh? I'm surprised the local folk didn't turn it into some sort of necklace already.."

"It's pretty~. Do you think I could have it?" Strangely enough, her gloomy, apathetic voice had become childish and peppy, surprising and confusing him.

"Well.. It's not mine, so I don't know.. Take it if you want it, I guess.." he replied hesitantly.

She smiled happily and gently picked it up to her face to gaze at it quietly.

"It matches your hair colour.." he remarked.

"Yeah.." Her eyes then widened in surprise as she noticed something crawling out of the shell. "Oh?"

Kid laughed in amusement and surprise, startling her since he seemed like such a cold person.

"I guess I'll have to rephrase what I said then," he stated with a smile. "I suppose this shell already has an owner."

She smiled back and carefully put the shell back onto the sand. "Yeah.. Oh, well.."

"Don't worry." He lifted his arm to wrap around her shoulder but hesitantly decided not to as he thought of Maka and instead pointed to the faraway shore.

"The next one will be yours."

* * *

"So, remind me what we're doing in our hotel room again?"

Soul stretched and laid his back onto the bed, which sprung him up to his surprise.

"Damn, we got a crappy bed…"

Maka sighed and frowned. "Can you put your mind off everything except us right now?" she requested in a slightly fed up tone.

"Oh?" He got up and grinned cheekily. "So _now_ you're into me, huh?"

"Yeah."

That plain, straightforward reply took him completely by surprise as he made a confused expression, not knowing whether or not she was joking.

"Um…" She blushed suddenly, confusing him even more.

"Soul.. Have you ever thought of.. You know.."

"…? Er, no, I don't know..?"

She groaned in frustration and walked around nervously. "Um.. You know, when we.. Kiss.."

"Yeah…?"

"Have you ever.. Thought of.." She took a deep breath and quickly blurted out, "Going further than that?"

"…"

There was a long, awkward silence as she nervously fidgeted about and he continued to stare at her blatantly in disbelief.

"… Seriously?"

She stopped abruptly in surprise and looked at him.

"Y-yeah.."

She heard a slight chuckle escape his mouth as he walked over and stood in front of her, then lightly brushed his hand over her hair, entwining a few strands in his finger.

"Alright, then."

* * *

"Ah…" Chrona tilted her head up and looked around.

"Hm?" Kid turned to look at her in surprise. "Something wrong?"

"I forgot about Maka.." she realized. "Is she with Soul-san right now, I wonder..?"

He grimaced, thinking the same thought as her. She was probably right.

"I wonder what they're doing right now…"

* * *

"… S-Soul, you jerk.."

Maka rolled off the bed and pulled the blanket along with her, heading over to the bathroom. Soul quietly watched her from behind, surprised and confused at her sudden weakness and staggering, much unlike her usual self.

"Maka.. You ok?"

She slowly turned around, wobbling as she did so.

"Do I look like I'm in a state to be 'ok'…?" she growled.

"…" Staring at her, he decided not to answer that question, since it risked his life. "I'm sorry..?"

She glared at him, chilling him to his very spine.

"Damn right, you should be.." she snapped. "You didn't even hold back…"

"Ah…" He continued to stare at her in surprise. "Maka, are you.. A virgin?"

She blushed a bright scarlet and quickly swerved around so he wouldn't see her.

".. Yeah, so what?"

To her surprise, he let out a chuckle of amusement and fondness, embarrassing her even more.

"T-that's so cute..!" he remarked as he tried to stop laughing.

"W-what?"

She turned around and glared at him, abruptly stopping his laughter.

"You're so innocent.. Maka-chan."

"Grr.."

"Ah.. But yeah, sorry for not holding back…" He blushed bashfully as he said so. "I'll.." He just couldn't find a way to say it and just fidgeted and stuttered shyly.

Maka raised an eyebrow as she stared at him quietly, observing his sudden nervousness. She then blushed and twisted a strand of her hair tensely, understanding what he was trying to say.

"Y-yeah.. So, be more gentle next time, ok?" she requested, failing to sound rough and uninterested.

He looked up in surprise and stared at her silently for a minute, then nodded and grinned sheepishly in an innocently cute way.

"Y-yeah~!"

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah, so I decided not to write the smutty bits in this chapter since I'm not exactly really good at that and besides, it's best to leave it to your imagination~! *grins* ;D


	13. The Belief in Soulmates

Author's Note: I'm terribly sorry about the long update! *bows in apology* Writer's block is an author's worst enemy and to be honest, I kept on hitting my head on the keyboard, desperate to think of an idea for the next chapter! D: Anyway, I understand if you've given up hope on me since this has been such a long update and again, I'm very sorry. Still, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try updating quickly!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen - The Belief in Soulmates

"Hey, Soul.. Do you believe in soulmates?" Maka abruptly asked as she unpacked her bags, filled with souvenirs from the vacation.

That sudden question caused Soul to frown in surprise.

"Soulmates?" His voice trailed off as he went lost in thought. "No, I don't. I believe in falling in love, but I don't believe in soulmates."

Maka nodded and trailed off in thought. "I suppose that's reasonable.." she mumbled as she took out a bunch of shampoos and conditioners.

"What about you?" he asked as he got up from the couch and picked up one of her books. "Do you believe in soulmates?"

"Um…" She stopped unpacking and looked up to the ceiling in thought. "I don't know.. Maybe, I guess."

"Oh?" A grin crept up on his face as he made himself comfortable on the couch and began to feel more interested in the topic. "Then, who do you believe is your soulmate?"

She frowned in surprise. "Hm? Well, what should I base it off, then? Similar interests or attractiveness or -."

"All of it," he interrupted with a smirk.

She scoffed in annoyance, not that happy that he'd interrupted her, and tilted her head in thought. "… Based on similar interests, I'd say Kid-kun. Based on childhood history and closeness, I'd say Black Star."

"…" He frowned in annoyance as she didn't mention his name at all. ".. And?"

"And.. What?" she asked in confusion.

With a frustrated stare, he pointed to himself. "Me, maybe?"

"Oh." She actually seemed quite surprised. "Well… I don't know, I mean, we don't share anything in common and it's not like I've known you since we were small.." She laughed and then added, "Besides, it's not like we have much in common, come to think of it, I'm not sure how we actually ended up dating!"

Sometimes Maka was a little too straightforward and although she didn't know it, she usually ended up indirectly hurting Soul's feelings with her words.

"…" Her white-haired boyfriend didn't say anything, instead, he pretended to read the book and ignored her, causing her to frown in confusion and puzzlement.

"Soul, what's wrong?" she asked concernedly.

"Nothing," he snapped and continued to flick through the pages.

"Something's definitely wrong with him.." she thought worriedly with a sigh. "Hey, Soul. I'm gonna go out to the bookstore, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever."

As she grabbed her purse and opened the door, she turned to look at him for the last time, but he turned away from her sight and scoffed, clearly indicating that he was mad at her.

* * *

"We meet again."

Chrona jerked up in surprise and dropped the class of tonic water she was holding. Ignoring the spilt drink, she swerved around to see Kid standing behind her with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, um… Kid-san.."

"Just call me Kid," he casually assured and took a seat next to her. "Should I buy you a drink? Considering that you've just dropped the one you were holding.."

She hesitantly nodded and smiled. "Oh, right. Thank you."

"So how are you?" he asked as he took a sip from his glass of wine.

"Um, I'm ok.." she shyly replied as she timidly glanced sideways, too nervous to look at him in the eye. "You?"

"I'm alright." He tapped her shoulder, causing her to immediately turn and look at him in surprise. "I don't know why, but I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"H-huh?" She jolted in shock and trembled nervously, not knowing what to say as she couldn't believe or understand what he just said.

He shrugged and brushed a hand past his hair. "I guess.. You're unique. And we have a lot in common, too."

"We do..?"

He nodded and playfully swirled the purple liquid in its glass. "Say, Chrona. Do you believe in soulmates?"

She gulped and it took all of her courage to respond truthfully. "… Yes, I do."

He was surprised by her response, but he soon smiled and laughed in contentment. "I'm glad you do." He abruptly took her by the hand and took her outside the bar, much to her confusion and disbelief. "Hey, Chrona." He turned to look at her as they walked down the lonely road. "Maka… I guess she wasn't fated to become my soulmate, huh?" He rested a hand over his chest and sighed sulkily. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother or hurt me, but.. I think I'm recovering from the pain now, thanks to you."

"… Thanks to me?" She was plainly puzzled by what he was saying.

He nodded and suddenly stopped to hold her hand and bring his face closer to hers. "We haven't known each other for long, but I feel a strange connection between us and I keep on getting drawn to you. What do you think that means?"

She stared at him for a moment before smiling and laughing as she realized that she'd also felt the exact same way, making her lose all means of in confidence and nervousness. In fact, when she gave him an answer, she did it confidently with a smile and looked at him in the eye. "I think it means we're soulmates."

* * *

"Sometimes I just can't stand Soul…" Maka grumbled as she flipped through pages of a book in the bookstore. As she continued to read the book, her mind suddenly flashed back to the time they were alone in the hotel.. And what they did. Her cheeks immediately flushed a bright scarlet and she dug her face into the open pages of the book in embarrassment. "Why can't I stop thinking about that…?"

As it turned out, her mind was too hung up on that night and she couldn't bring herself to focus and choose a book to buy so she ended up heading back to her apartment without buying a single thing.

"Hey, Soul."

"Maka." She was surprised to see him standing right in front of her when she opened the door.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I was wondering…" He scratched his cheek nervously as his voice trailed off. "Um, I.."

"What?" she urged, feeling a bit annoyed.

"D-don't rush me.." he protested and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I… was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight."

"Go out?" She obviously wasn't in the mood to go outside again, but she thought twice about being straightforward like last time. "Well.. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere you want to go."

"Oh.." She sighed and smiled. "Sure, let's go."

* * *

"The bookstore?" Soul complained in disdain as they stood outside Shibusen library, a place Maka visited often.

"Well, you _did_ say we could go anywhere I wanted to go," she pointed out with a smirk.

He grumbled in dismay as they stepped inside and he was instantly frowned at and shushed by the librarian for sighing too loudly.

"You're not going to read something?" she remarked as he continued to stare at her from across the table as she flipped through the pages of a dusty, old book.

"No," he childishly stated.

She shrugged and continued to read her book. "Fine by me."

"Hey, Maka."

She sighed in dismay and lowered her book again. "What?" she demanded, irritated by the fact that he kept on interrupted her whilst she was reading.

"Wanna get married?"

The book immediately dropped from her fingers and landed on the floor with a thud, causing the librarian to yell at their table again, although the reasons why she yelled at them before was that Soul kept on complaining out loud and also kept on folding paper airplanes and threw them around the library, disrupting other readers and making a mess.

"W-what?" Her voice was barely audible, lost in shock. It was just so sudden that she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You heard me…" He turned away from her, too embarrassed and shy to lock eyes with hers.

"Are you serious?" She simply couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Like hell, I am." His Soul-like response amused her, but she was still too shocked to laugh. "You know…" He sighed and blushed sheepishly. "I know I'm supposed to do this with a romantic candle-lit dinner and, well, when I'm wearing a tuxedo and all that, but… honestly, I mean it and I couldn't wait to ask you so…"

She suddenly burst out into laughter, surprising him _and_ the librarian. "You're an idiot!" she exclaimed, much to his confusion and dismay. This certainly wasn't the reaction he'd expected from her.

"I don't need a stupid candle-lit dinner or anything," she assured as she shed her tears of laughter. "I'm happy with this already."

His eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. "Really?"

She nodded and grinned. "I couldn't ask for more," she stated. "Besides, proposing to me must've been the hardest thing you've ever done in your life so I guess I shouldn't expect more. How does it feel, losing all the little remains of your pride and glory?" she teased.

He pouted and grumbled in frustration and embarrassment. "Hey, I still haven't gotten an answer from you yet…" he mumbled nervously.

"Yes."

He instantly tilted his head up to stare at her, wide-eyed in shock.

She smiled back at him and suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders, giving him a tight, warm hug. An I'll-never-let-you-go hug.

"Yes," she repeated through gasps and tears of delight and joy. "A million times, yes."


End file.
